Joel Embiid will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from a nagging knee injury, the 76ers announced Wednesday.
Embiid, 22, has been sidelined indefinitely and has not played since Jan. 27. He continued to experience swelling and soreness in his knee and had an MRI on Monday. The Sixers said the minor meniscus tear was “more pronounced” than they originally thought.
The centerpiece of Philadelphia’s rebuild, Embiid missed the first two seasons of his career with foot injuries. The Cameroon native took the court this season for the first time and quickly emerged as one of the league’s top young talents and also one of its biggest personalities.
In 31 games this season, Embiid averaged 20.2 points. 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in just 25.4 minutes per game.
Embiid joins 2016 No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons, also out for the season with a foot injury, among the Sixers’ injured blue-chip prospects. The two could take the court together for the first time in 2017-18.
Philadelphia entered Wednesday at 22–37.
