Joel Embiid performed simply 19 video games final season and has tempered expectations forward of the 2025-26 season following his knee surgical procedure. Embiid mentioned he feels “fairly good” however he is taking it day-to-day.
“There’s not essentially an expectation; it is extra about ensuring every thing is correct and doing every thing proper after which go from there,” he mentioned. “Clearly the objective is to play constantly and never be the place that we had been final yr.”
Embiid battled his ongoing left knee damage in addition to a foot sprain final season. In the course of the 2023-24 season, Embiid was having one other MVP caliber season earlier than tearing his meniscus. Embiid returned for the playoffs after which performed within the Olympics earlier than signing a three-year, $192.9 million extension with the Philadelphia 76ers in September 2024.
Embiid was requested whether or not there have been any on-court changes he might make transferring ahead to keep away from damage.
“At occasions you possibly can’t get out of your self,” he mentioned. “All I do know is, ever since I began this, to play exhausting, play each ends. There’s lots of people within the league that play one facet, whether or not it is offense or protection. A number of occasions for me, my mentality is to do no matter it takes to win. For all of my profession, it has been having to do each.”
“I’ve gotten so far due to how good I’m at each ends of the ground. In the event you ask me to alter the best way I play, the one guess that I’ve is both play offense totally and take performs off defensively, which does not swimsuit me,” Embiid continued. “I do not assume I would ever be OK with that. I do not know. We’ll simply wait and see. If it is gotta be that approach, it is undoubtedly going to be an adjustment, however I do not see that taking place.”
