Sixers center Joel Embiid played in the NBA All-Star Game
Embiid had been noncommittal about playing in the game because of left foot soreness. He will start Sunday night in Salt Lake City.
SALT LAKE CITY — Joel Embiid was a go.
The 76ers center played in Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game at the Vivint Arena after being noncommittal for the last two weeks because of left foot soreness.
He was not at Saturday’s Eastern Conference All-Star practice or the media availability that followed. However, Embiid did attend a photo shoot Sunday afternoon at the arena.
The six-time All-Star played for Team LeBron. He learned his fate before around 40 minutes before the start of the game. That’s when the team captains, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, drafted their rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference.
To avoid any hurt feelings about being picked last, the captains picked the reserves before the starters. Antetokounmpo had the first overall pick and selected Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, who attended nearby Weber State. Team LeBron picked the last reserve, Memphis Grizzlies power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. Embiid was the first starter picked, and the last player selected from that group was Utah Jazz power forward Lauri Markkanen.
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Embiid, along with Markkanen and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant, started in place of sidelined All-Stars Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns), Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans), and Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors).
But prior to the festivities, there was a chance that Embiid might miss this game due to lingering foot problems he has managed all season.
His workouts in the offseason and during training camp were hampered by plantar fasciitis, which led to Embiid entering the season out of shape. Then Embiid missed a combined eight games with a sprained left foot and general soreness unrelated to the plantar fasciitis. He also has missed several other games with the flu, left knee swelling, and right knee injury recovery.
But Sunday, Embiid was the first All-Star on the floor doing light shooting around 90 minutes before the game. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder is second in the league in scoring at 33.1 points. He also averages 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks.
Embiid is an MVP favorite after finishing as MVP runner-up the last two seasons.