76ers’ Joel Embiid undergoes two operations on his hands
Though there was obviously concern, Philadelphia’s star is expected to make a full recovery which can only mean good things for the franchise.
After suffering an injury that derailed his post season efforts with the 76ers, the center finally had a corrective operation to solve the problem, but there was also a secondary operation as well.
Sixers’ Joel Embiid has two operations
According to reports on Monday, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid underwent surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right thumb. Incidentally, Embiid also had a procedure performed to repair an existing injury to his left index finger. It should be said that the Sixers’ star is expected to make a full recovery where both operations are concerned, such that he will indeed be present when training camp for the 2022-23 season begins. As one can imagine this is very good news for the franchise who were of course sweating on just how serious their star’s injury was.
What happened to Joel Embiid?
It would be fair to say that Joel Embiid was battered and bruised during the course of this past season. Indeed, the Sixers big man actually played through the aforementioned injuries as well as - if you can believe it - a broken orbital bone in his face, which he suffered as recently as this post season past. Unfortunately, it was to prove too much in the end as during their playoff second round series against the Miami Heat, Embiid could clearly be seen struggling with the combination of his injuries. In the end the 76ers would be eliminated by the Heat and Embiid would go on to admit that he felt as though he was fighting a “lose-lose” battle by playing, but not being able to do so at full strength.
“It’s just about pain tolerance. This is a lose-lose situation for me,” Embiid said. “If I don’t play, I probably get called soft. If I play and I play bad, [they] probably come up with a bunch of stuff that’s, I guess he’s just not good enough. So it’s all about trying to stay, not get too high or too low, just going out there and really try to dig very deep and try to do whatever I can. If I say that I’m feeling a certain way, it’s probably looked at as excuses,” Embiid said before disclosing his internal take on the situation. “If I don’t say anything, it’s probably looked [at] as, well, he must be fine. I don’t have an answer. Y’all know what’s going on, I’m really just pushing through it.”
Joel Embiid deserves recognition
Though the Sixers’ star would likely prefer to be continuing his post season campaign right now, it goes without saying that his season was sensational. The Heat as mentioned before brought an end to Philadelphia’s campaign, making it the fourth time in the past five years that they’ve exited the playoffs at the Conference semifinal stage, but there are positives to take away. Embiid became the first center to lead the NBA in scoring with his 30.6 points per game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000. In addition he also achieved the status of being the first center since Moses Malone back in 1982 to average 30 points a game. There was also of course his second consecutive year as the runner up in the league’s MVP voting when he finished just behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.