Philadelphia 76ers center and former league Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid said it’s probable that he’ll never play in back-to-back NBA games ever again.
Embiid, 30, who was shut down by the team Sunday for the rest of the preseason due to his balky knee, made the comments to ESPN.
“If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Embiid told ESPN.
It’s a notion backed by 76ers general manager Daryl Morey, adding that scenario could also be in play for new addition Paul George.
“We’re going to be smart about it,” Morey told ESPN. “Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any.”
Embiid recently said he dropped 25 to 30 pounds in the offseason to help take pressure off the knee. Embiid will continue to wear a brace on the left knee.
“It’s the right thing to do, and the right thing that’s going to give me the support for the rest of my career,” Embiid told ESPN. “For me, it’s a mental thing. I hated it. (But) I started telling myself, ‘OK, I have to do it, that’s the only way they’re going to let me play.’”
Philadelphia opens the regular season on Oct. 23 against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
Embiid played in just 39 regular-season games last season mainly due to his troublesome left knee.
Embiid was injured in a collision with Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga on Jan. 30. He underwent a procedure to fix the damage to his meniscus on Feb. 6. He hobbled through the playoffs after returning to action.
Embiid was superb in the regular season by averaging 34.7 points and 11 rebounds and making the All-Star team for the seventh straight season.
He was NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season when he averaged 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds in 66 games. He is a two-time scoring champion and also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA this summer.
Overall, Embiid has averages of 27.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in 433 games over eight seasons.
