Joel Embiid participates in ‘quite a bit’ of the Sixers’ first training camp practice
Embiid, who had arthroscopic surgery in his left knee in April, is taking it day by day. He participated in most of Saturday morning’s practice.
Joel Embiid participated in most of Saturday morning’s practice during the first day of the 76ers’ training camp.
Meanwhile, Paul George and Trendon Watford were relegated to individual sessions on the court. Watford is dealing with right hamstring tightness and is listed day-to-day. George is recovering from July’s arthroscopic surgery in his left knee. Embiid had arthroscopic surgery in his left knee in April.
“Everything from the start was live. He was in there participating in that stuff,” said coach Nick Nurse of Embiid. “He didn’t do everything, but he did do quite a bit….
“He was moving good and playing hard, and he had great spirit out there today.”
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Embiid’s surgery came after the Sixers determined on Feb. 28 that he was medically unable to play and would remain sidelined for the remainder of last season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.
The 2023 league MVP played only 19 games this season. His averages of 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds were the fourth- and second-lowest, respectively, in his nine NBA seasons. He also shot career lows from the field (44.4%) and on three-pointers (29.9%).
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This procedure is Embiid’s second surgery on the knee in 14 months and third in nine seasons. He had surgery on Feb. 6, 2024, after suffering a torn meniscus in his knee eight days earlier in a game against the Golden State Warriors.
“I feel pretty good,” Embiid said during Friday’s media day. “I think we made a lot of progress over the last couple of months. We got a plan in place. Try to check off all the boxes, so just taking it day by day. This is still kind of like a feel period where we’re just taking it day by day. Keep getting stronger. Keep getting better.”