The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping to beat the Boston Celtics in a Playoff series for the first time since 1982, with the Celtics winning the last six Playoff series matchups against their divisional rivals. The Celtics enter their 2026 NBA Playoffs first-round matchup against the 76ers as the No. 2 seed and favorites to advance.
The 76ers need former MVP Joel Embiid to be at his best to help overcome a dangerous Celtics squad. However, Embiid had already been ruled out for the first two games of the series as he recovers from an appendectomy (appendix removal surgery). It is an unfortunately timed non-basketball injury, but it seems like the recovery timeline for the 32-year-old center is far from certain right now.
ESPN’s Jorge Sedano shared an update on Embiid’s status before Game 1 between the 76ers and Celtics, revealing that a return in the first round hasn’t been ruled out. However, Embiid is yet to resume basketball activities as a whole, which might make it hard for the center to return to the court in time.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll see him anytime soon because he’s still recovering from that surgery. We asked him about a potential return during the series, and he said they’re not ruling it out. But this is something that’s touch-and-go. He hasn’t started basketball activities or anything.”
Embiid averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists this season, missing 44 games due to various injuries he sustained over the year. Embiid is one of the most injury-prone superstars in modern NBA history, but appendicitis isn’t really something he could’ve controlled. It’s an illness and might be the second-most surprising physical setback Embiid has suffered in his career, behind the Bell’s Palsy that he played through in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
The 76ers have never been past the second round in the Embiid era, with this season likely not going their way, given their seeding situation and the injury to Embiid. They have a really difficult first-round opponent who has beaten them multiple times in recent Playoff matchups. The 76ers wouldn’t be favored to win this series even if Embiid were healthy, let alone if he misses the entire series.
There is a silver lining that 76ers fans could hold onto. Since recovery from surgery has a stricter timeline for physical activity to ensure a full recovery, Embiid likely could skip the usual ramp-up procedure upon return from injury, since it isn’t a joint, muscle, or bone-related injury.
There is a higher chance Embiid returns to basketball activities in the practices before a game rather than following the typical procedure of going from individual workouts to three-on-three workouts before graduating to five-on-five and an NBA game. With it being an illness more than an injury, 76ers fans will keep their fingers crossed that their franchise center is pushing to make a return as soon as possible.
