Report: 76ers’ Joel Embiid ‘Is a Full Go’ After Rehabbing, Resting Knee Injury

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

While there is still plenty of uncertainty about whether Ben Simmons will ever take the court again for the Philadelphia 76ers, they will reportedly have a healthy Joel Embiid to start the preseason.

According to David Aldridge of The Athletic, the big man is “full go” after rehabbing and resting a knee injury that bothered him during Philadelphia’s second-round playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Embiid will play “a normal preseason load” as a result.

This is surely welcome news for the 76ers, who are dealing with the Simmons situation with the season approaching. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the point guard “will not report for [the] opening of training camp next week and intends to never play another game for the franchise.”

That means Embiid will be more important than ever for a team that still has enough talent to compete for an NBA Finals berth out of the Eastern Conference.

Injuries have always been a storyline for the Kansas product. He missed his first two seasons in the league and has never played more than 64 games in a single campaign, but he is one of the league’s best players when healthy.

Embiid is a three-time All-NBA selection, three-time All-Defensive honoree and four-time All-Star who averaged 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game last season as an MVP candidate.

Philadelphia may need similar numbers from him again to compete with the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets and others in the Eastern Conference, so the fact he is healthy at this point is an important development.