Joel Embiid's injury news went from bad to worse Sunday. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers center needs surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee and is expected to miss "an extended period of time" as he recovers, though no specific timeline range was given.
BREAKING: 76ers star Joel Embiid — the reigning MVP — will undergo a procedure this week to repair a left meniscus injury, a team official tells ESPN. A recovery timeline is expected after procedure, but expectation is that he will miss an extended period of time. pic.twitter.com/9c3ZqM7iT2
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2024
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Saturday that Embiid suffered a displaced flap of the meniscus in his left knee — a type of meniscus tear — against the Golden State Warriors and was hoping to address the issue with rest.
But the latest injury was not an isolated one. Embiid returned to the court Tuesday after sitting out the previous two games with knee soreness, including a Saturday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokić.
His absence in that game, which was announced just before tipoff and drew waves of criticism because of the timing and opponent, cost the 76ers $75,000 in fines from the NBA for "failing to include Joel Embiid on the team's injury report in an accurate and timely manner."
The injury in the Warriors game mostly impacted Embiid's odds to win MVP: He was listed +450 at BetMGM before the injury and dropped to +1500 after going down at the Chase Center. With this latest news that's he'll undergo surgery, Embiid's odds to win MVP are off the board and the 76ers have seen a significant drop in the odds to win the NBA title.
On Jan. 31, the 76ers were +1200 to win the NBA championship, behind the Boston Celtics (+310), Denver Nuggets (+425), Milwaukee Bucks (+525) and Los Angeles Clippers (+700). As of Sunday night, the 76ers are listed at +2500 to win the championship, tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers and just ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers (+3000).
NBA Title Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Celtics | +275 |
| Nuggets | +425 |
| Bucks | +475 |
| Clippers | +700 |
| Suns | +1400 |
| Timberwolves | +2000 |
| Thunder | +2000 |
| Knicks | +2200 |
| Cavaliers | +2500 |
| 76ers | +2500 |
| Lakers | +3000 |
| Mavericks | +4000 |
| Heat | +4000 |
| Pelicans | +5000 |
| Kings | +5000 |
| Warriors | +6000 |
| Pacers | +8000 |
| Magic | +12500 |
| Hawks | +20000 |
| Rockets | +25000 |
| Bulls | +30000 |
| Nets | +50000 |
| Jazz | +50000 |
| Raptors | +75000 |
| Grizzlies | +100000 |
Matt Moore, Action Network's Senior NBA Writer, laid out the different potential outcomes for Embiid's potential absence after his injury Thursday night.
If Embiid does elect for surgery, there are two outcomes:
- Embiid can have the meniscus removed, which results in shorter return times (as short as six weeks), but long-term injury management becomes more difficult. It should be noted that Chris Paul elected for this procedure, and while he had knee issues throughout his career, he has been able to play into his late 30s.
- Embiid can opt to have the meniscus repaired, which has better long-term impacts but would require him to likely miss the remainder of the season.
To sum up:
Rest: Weeks
Removal: 6-8 weeks
Repair: Rest of season
As Wojnarowski noted, a recovery timeline likely won't be announced until after the procedure is done, but the silence doesn't bode well for the reigning MVP or the Sixers, and the latter scenario would be a devastating blow to a team that appeared to be on the rise in the East.
