It’s been nearly 30 months since Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid has played in a competitive game. That came as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks back in March of 2014.
Now, far removed from his most-recent foot surgery, skepticism regarding Embiid’s ability to play has been replaced with confidence in him contributing this season.
According to Sixers head coach Brett Brown, Embiid is “well and truly on track” to play during the preseason.
“Embiid is well and truly on track, there are no red flags anywhere. None of us should be afraid right now, we’re very proud of him” -Brett
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) August 22, 2016
This could be some relatively huge news for the suddenly talented Sixers. Should Embiid be able to overcome the multitude of setbacks he’s occurred since that initial foot surgery back in 2014, it will give Philadelphia yet another big man to rely on this season.
Embiid, the No. 3 overall pick of Philadelphia back in 2014, has the skill-set to absolutely dominate at the NBA level. Teaming him up with rookies Ben Simmons and Dario Saric could create a formidable front-court.
Add in Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, and there’s no reason to believe Philadelphia can’t turn the corner in 2016-17.
It’s also important to note that adding a healthy Embiid to the mix might be able to enable Philly to move either Noel or Okafor. That’s definitely been mentioned as a possibility in the recent past.