Hard setback for the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid, the franchise's star, will be sidelined for an "extended period of time," according to Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) and Shams Charania (The Athletic). This injury also means that the Cameroonian loses all his chances of repeating MVP.
Despite not being in the best condition, Embiid forced himself to play against the Golden State Warriors, a game in which he suffered the mishap that will keep him off the field. In a fortuitous action at the end of the match, Kuminga fell on the left knee of the 29-year-old center, causing the serious injury that will require him to undergo surgery for meniscus surgery. The medical report is inaccurate and will depend on the decision that the Cameroonian decides to make with the support of the franchise's doctors. If they choose to perform a meniscectomy, the center will be out for about a month. On the other hand, if they prefer to repair the torn tissues, the time out would be much longer, which would keep Embiid away from the courts until next season, therefore missing the playoffs and the Olympic Games.
Knee problems have been constant in the Cameroonian's professional career. In the 2016-2017 campaign he only played 31 games because he had surgery on his left knee, the same one he has affected now. This season, physical problems have once again undermined the Sixers center, who had missed 14 games so far. These annoyances were keeping him away from the MVP, since this year, the NBA has determined that candidates to win the award must play at least 20 minutes in 65 of the 82 games played to be eligible for the award.
The player born in Yaoundé, but nationalized American and French, was one of the main favorites to win the award, since he was averaging 35.3 points (the league's top scorer), 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. match, numbers that placed him in the fight for the MVP along with other NBA stars, such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In fact, the Cameroonian could be the first player to achieve more points scored (35.3) than minutes played (34) in a full season since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1962.
This season Embiid was putting up formidable performances, like the one he did against the San Antonio Spurs, a game in which the Cameroonian scored 70 points, entering the top-10 for highest scorers in the history of the league. His influence on the franchise led by Nick Nurse is crucial, as the numbers show. With the center on the court, the Sixers have won 26 games and lost 8 times. However, without the current MVP on the court, those from Pennsylvania have only won 4 of the 14 games in which Embiid has not been.
The injury is not at a good time for the Philadelphia 76ers, since they have only won one of the last six games. This bad dynamic has distanced them from the top of the Eastern Conference, where they are already in fifth position and with the Play-In positions increasingly closer. However, what is certain is that the current MVP of the competition will not be able to win the award for the second consecutive year, as Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019 and 2020) or Nikola Jokic (2021 and 2022) recently did.
