On Monday night in Toronto, Joel Embiid was in the lineup for the 20th time this season. It’s the middle of January and the former MVP has already played more games than he did in all of 2024-25.
While playing this many games is an accomplishment in and of itself, the level of Embiid’s play is downright amazing. Consider this past offseason — obituaries were written, trade machines were fired up, “waive-and-stretch” was likely in a few Google searches. Before his three-year max extension even kicked
in, people were certain Embiid would never play at a high level again.
But he looked an awful lot like Joel Embiid in the Sixers’ 115-102 win over the Raptors, recording 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He even had two dunks — the first being his most athletic dunk in literal years.
Everything about this play is a great sign. The big fella saw an opening, took off looking to punish the rim, and then had the type of snarl we haven’t seen from him much recently. He’s feeling good. He’s looking good.
And that might be the biggest thing — this is the best Embiid has looked physically since he dropped a franchise-record 70 points on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in January of 2024. He was never this mobile during the playoff series loss to the New York Knicks. He was outstanding against Serbia, an opponent Team USA likely doesn’t defeat on its gold-medal run without him, but mostly struggled at the Olympics with a bulky brace. He never resembled his MVP self during any of the 19 games he played in last season.
Embiid’s continued improvement is providing hope for Sixers fans and quickly becoming one of the best stories in the NBA in 2025-26.
It made sense that Embiid’s campaign got off to a rocky start. He barely played last season and had another procedure performed on his left knee in April — only a little over a year after he had a meniscectomy on the same knee. Most weren’t sure Embiid would be ready for training camp or the start of the season. Yet, he was an early arrival to camp and took the floor on opening night in Boston.
There were encouraging moments here and there, but overall, Embiid didn’t look great over his first nine games, averaging 18.2 points and shooting 40.7% from the field in 25.0 minutes per game. He also missed nearly the entire month of November with soreness in his right knee.
The turning point for Embiid might’ve been a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 7. In that game, he shot 4-of-21 from the field. Any type of decent shooting effort in that game and the Sixers probably win. If you watched that game closely though, he looked better. It was an awful shooting performance, but he closed the game well defensively, appearing to move much more fluidly.
The following game against the Indiana Pacers, Embiid dropped 39 points, his highest total since pouring in 39 against the Knicks in an elimination Game 6. From that game on, Embiid has slowly but surely looked more like … Embiid.
Over his last 11 games, he’s averaging 28.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 blocks in 33.0 minutes per game, while shooting 51.5% from the field. He’s put up those numbers while struggling mightily from three during that stretch. But again, it’s less about the numbers and more about how he looks.
Imagine being told there was a chance Embiid could be an All-Star this season back in October. It would have (appropriately) been met with the utmost skepticism.
The midrange game has come back. He’s getting downhill and finishing at the rim or drawing fouls. He’s probably setting better screens than he ever has in his career. He’s challenging more shots at the rim. It’s not perfect. Embiid doesn’t fully look like his MVP self or the world destroyer he looked like to start the following year.
But that might be the most exciting thing for the Sixers — Embiid might just be scratching the surface. He’s looked better with each passing game. The Sixers’ season hopes should be treated with the same care and fragility as Embiid’s left knee, but at least there is hope.
