Joel Embiid spoke after the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 124-104 loss to the Boston Celtics. When talking about his knee injury, he noted that he isn’t able to perform at the same level that he did in years past because of his injury. Embiid added that it is difficult for him to trust himself and what he can handle because of the current injury predicament he is going through, and needs time to recover.
“The way I was playing a year ago, it’s not the way I’m playing right now. It sucks. But I believe… I probably need to fix the problem and then I’ll be back at that level, but it’s hard to have trust when you’re not yourself. It’s tough. You know you can do so much more.”
Embiid recently admitted that he needs another surgery and a full offseason to recover from his current knee injury. This has begun to impact his performance on the court at a level we haven’t seen in the past. Last night, Embiid put up 15 points (3-9 FG), three rebounds, and four assists. These numbers are a far cry from the figures Embiid put up during his MVP season just two years ago.
It is clear that Embiid isn’t the player he used to be. And fans have begun to grow impatient with his mistakes, recently booing him after he cost the 76ers a win with his carelessness. Kevin Garnett believes that the 76ers should just shut Embiid down for the season as they don’t have a strong chance to make a deep playoff run this year.
The Cameroonian All-Star has always struggled with injuries throughout his career. In fact, Shannon Sharpe recently blamed his poor eating habits for his injuries which are costing him a lot of money. Regardless of the reason, Embiid just isn’t in the right physical state to play right now.
Joel Embiid Continues Theatrical Flopping
However, fans saw during last night’s game that there is one aspect of Embiid’s game that is still just fine. During a drive to the basket, Embiid intentionally took a fall and exaggerated the impact made by both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis on him in order to earn himself a trip to the free-throw line.
Embiid is such a shameless player smh falls and gets freethrows 🤣 pic.twitter.com/zctHr3bRU7
— CELTICS ☘️ BANNER 19 (@BiggLynch) February 21, 2025
Embiid has a reputation for flopping. And it isn’t just fans that criticize his simulation. Dwight Howard, who played with Embiid in the past, called him the toughest player to guard because he knows how to flop. One Timberwolves announcer also recently called Embiid the worst flopper in the NBA.
Embiid’s issues both on and off the court have led to his professionalism being called into question. And with his consistent flopping, it is hard to feel sympathy towards him. Many of his problems right now are of his own creation. And if there is one thing that NBA fans will never tolerate, it is a player exaggerating contact so that they can get to the free throw line.
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