Feb 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks on during the third quarter against the Miami Heat at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
PHILADELPHIA — Strap in, because the emotional roller-coaster when it comes to the return of Joel Embiid is about to fully take off.
Thursday, hopes grew as Embiid was listed as doubtful as opposed to out. Speculation started to begin that he may, somewhat miraculously, return to the court just two weeks after needing an emergency appendectomy while the team was in Houston.
Alas, a couple hours before the game, reports came out that said Embiid was working out recently, but the decision had been made for him not to play in Friday's Game 3.
"He's just not ready," said coach Nick Nurse. "He's lifted some, he's gotten on court a bit. But it's still two weeks and a day (since the surgery). Just not ready yet."
Embiid has played just five games since Feb. 26. That night against the Miami Heat, Embiid suffered a strained right oblique during a collision. That caused him to miss 13 consecutive games before returning on March 25. Soreness from the injury and then an illness caused him to be in and out of the lineup for a few games before being rushed to the operating table on April 9.
Game 4 of the series will be this Sunday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, before returning to Boston on Tuesday, back to Philly on Thursday, with Game 7 scheduled for Saturday, May 2.
The best way to describe where Embiid may be is day-to-day, probably. But then again, aren't we all day-to-day?
"He's getting some playing in, pretty intense playing," said Nurse. "Mostly workouts and stuff, individual stuff. But he has gotten up and played against competition."
The competition has sometimes been players, sometimes assistant coaches. Stay tuned, because as we all know, this isn't going to go away any time soon.
