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By Megan Armstrong
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Joel Embiid won the NBA MVP in 2023 and led the league in scoring in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
Embiid has also led the NBA in worst injury luck since the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him third overall in 2014.
The seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, and three-time All-Defensive center couldn't even officially begin his NBA career until the 2016-17 season.
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Embiid missed the first two with a navicular bone fracture in his right foot. In the years since, Embiid has torn his meniscus, received a Bell's palsy diagnosis, and suffered several facial fractures. This season, Embiid has only played 38 games while managing nagging ankle and knee injuries.
This week, Embiid's body betrayed him again.
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The 76ers announced on Thursday that Embiid "underwent a successful appendectomy today in Houston." The team provided another update on Friday, saying that Embiid had been discharged from the hospital and has "no set timeline for his return" to playing (via ESPN).
Nobody can question Embiid's toughness and willingness to play through pain, but speaking from experience, nobody should underestimate the horrors of appendicitis.
Philly has already employed a cautious approach with Embiid this entire season, so this shouldn't be jarring, especially with only two regular-season games remaining this weekend.
The tricky part is that the Sixers are in the Play-In Tournament, which means they have to play on April 14 or April 15 rather than having the full two weeks before the true start of the NBA playoffs on April 18.
If Embiid can return next week and the 76ers survive the Play-In, they could pose a threat in the first round of the playoffs. Nine-time All-Star Paul George returned from his 25-game suspension on March 25. All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey is capable of fireworks on any given night, and rookie guard VJ Edgecombe has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NBA this season.
But, yet again, the 76ers' hopes hinge on whether Embiid's body will cooperate.
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