Nick Nurse Gives Update on Joel Embiid, Knee Soreness
Joel Embiid will sit with right knee soreness when the Philadelphia 76ers face the Boston Celtics in a nationally televised Tuesday night matchup. The former MVP reported the issue during…
Joel Embiid will sit with right knee soreness when the Philadelphia 76ers face the Boston Celtics in a nationally televised Tuesday night matchup. The former MVP reported the issue during Tuesday’s shootaround after an off-day on Monday.
The Sixers had not previously listed Embiid on an injury report. Head coach Nick Nurse addressed the media at Xfinity Mobile Arena about the injury.
“He just reported a little soreness in his right knee. He’s had some imaging on that this afternoon, and the doctors are here tonight to go over that with him.”
-Nick Nurse
Nurse set no expectations for a timetable on Embiid’s absence beyond the Celtics game. The head coach couldn’t pinpoint any specific play or time frame from Embiid’s most recent game action on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors when an injury occurred.
Joel Embiid played only 19 games last season dealing predominantly with an issue in his left knee, a condition unrelated to the right knee soreness. He began the 2025-26 season with a minutes restriction as part of his load management plan. He averaged 19.7 points in 23.3 minutes while playing in six of Philadelphia’s first 10 games.
Nurse juggled his strategy to utilize his dominant big man in the limited minutes. He leaned toward saving Embiid for more second half minutes of Philadelphia's most recent games.
Second-year big man Adem Bona has started three games in Embiid’s absence. Veteran Andre Drummond has started one, and the two will anchor the frontcourt with their superstar teammate on the bench in the immediate future.
The Sixers have also played the entire season with 34-year-old Paul George, and Jared McCain hasn’t gained his rhythm after missing the start of the season with a torn UCL.
While Tyrese Maxey has impressively stormed out of the gates in 2025-26, the Sixers have leaned him heavily early in the season given the circumstances of their depleted roster. The 24-year-old led the NBA averaging 41.1 minutes per game in his first 10. His teammates VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. ranked second and third, respectively.
