January 16, 2025
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When will Joel Embiid (left foot sprain) be back on the floor?
With a 15-24 record, the Sixers find themselves two games out of the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference -- six games out of the No. 6 seed, where they could guarantee a playoff spot -- and are staring down a gauntlet of a schedule over the next month. As the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline looms, so does the reality that the team will only keep its first-round pick if it lands within the top six spots.
The time has to be now for the Sixers, who do not have much more time to turn things around before they have to consider whether packing it in for the season is their only option.
In order to win games, they will need Joel Embiid to return to the floor and be consistently available. Embiid has missed six straight games with a left foot sprain, and the Sixers are 1-5 during that stretch, with their only win being a nail-biter against the NBA-worst Washington Wizards.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and the team have continued to describe Embiid's foot sprain as a day-to-day injury. But even if he returns for the team's next game -- a Saturday night contest against the Pacers in Indiana -- it will have been two weeks since he last suited up. Confusion and skepticism have ensued, directed toward common subjects in Embiid and the Sixers, whose mysterious nature when it comes to injury statuses has long been a cause of frustration.
In the absence of any firm updates from the source directly, all we can do is break down every piece of public information as it relates to Embiid and his foot. Here it goes:
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This injury was initially suffered during the final moments of the Sixers' win over the defending champion Celtics on Christmas Day:
The play in which Joel Embiid seemed to suffer his left foot sprain on Dec. 25: pic.twitter.com/pL7PBQdVPQ
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 16, 2025
Embiid, who also had an injury scare with his right ankle before the game when tripping over a rope, finished the game and helped the Sixers secure a victory.
The Sixers had two days off before the West Coast swing of their six-game road trip began. The day before their game in Utah, the Sixers posted their initial injury report, and Embiid was listed as questionable with his left foot sprain. He ended up being a game-time decision, but ultimately Embiid was upgraded to available. He played 34 minutes and 39 seconds in a Sixers win.
Once again, the Sixers' initial injury report the day prior to the game listed Embiid as questionable with the left foot sprain. The same process ensued, as the team did not make a definitive determination on his availability until 30 minutes before tip-off when starting lineups and inactive lists are due. But once again, Embiid was upgraded to available. He played 35 minutes and 38 seconds in a Sixers win.
Embiid has yet to play in both legs of any back-to-backs this season after saying before it began that he may never do so again in his career. On the front end of this back-to-back, the Sixers held Embiid out against the Kings to save him for the following night. But when he was listed as out on the team's initial injury report, Embiid's only designation was "rest," with his foot not mentioned.
On their initial injury report the afternoon of this game, the Sixers listed Embiid as questionable with his left foot sprain once again, declined to make a decision on his official status until a half-hour before tip-off, and then finally upgraded him to available. Embiid played 30 minutes and 58 seconds in the Sixers' most lopsided loss of the season.
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The day before this one, the Sixers listed Embiid as questionable with his left foot sprain in their initial injury report. The same process occurred once again, as Nurse called him a game-time decision and he eventually was upgraded to available at the last possible minute. Embiid played 28 minutes and 58 seconds in a dominant Sixers victory.
While it was unclear at the time, Nurse indicated on Wednesday night that he believes Embiid likely aggravated his foot injury to some degree during this game. Embiid did not speak to the media following the win.
On their initial injury report the day before taking on the Suns, the Sixers listed Embiid as questionable with his left foot sprain.
Approximately an hour and 45 minutes before the Sixers kicked off a three-game stretch at home, the Sixers informed the media that Embiid had been ruled out for the game. Minutes later, Nurse conducted his pregame press conference and said that Embiid was day-to-day, and there was "nothing major" going on with his foot.
The day before facing the Wizards, the Sixers held a practice. Embiid did not participate, which has become common as the team manages his workload. When the team issued its initial injury report a few hours later, Embiid was listed as out with his left foot sprain.
The day before the game, the Sixers held a practice. Nurse said afterwards that Embiid had been a participant, often an indicator of progress -- especially when juxtaposed with his lack of participation in the previous practice. But when the team issued its initial injury a few hours later, Embiid was once again listed as out with his left foot sprain.
Before the Sixers lost to the Pelicans, Nurse said that Embiid had indeed "aggravated" the injury, but remained day-to-day. Nurse expressed optimism that Embiid could return to action in two days when the team played its next game.
The day before taking on the Magic, the Sixers issued their initial injury report and listed Embiid as questionable with his left foot sprain. Typically, if Embiid is in the midst of an extended absence, being upgraded to questionable for a game -- or even doubtful, for that matter -- is a sign that he is eventually going to end up playing.
Embiid was deemed a game-time decision -- as he was for each of the four games he played in while managing the injury -- but this time, the Sixers ruled him out 30 minutes prior to tip-off. And this is the point that becomes a source of major confusion when contrasted with what has happened over the following few days. Stick around.
Embiid had seemingly progressed in his recovery. After all, going from being ruled out more than a day in advance of multiple games to at least having a chance to play as late as a half-hour before a game is a noticeable difference.
But on the team's initial injury report for its game vs. the Thunder, issued the day prior to the contest, Embiid was ruled out with his left foot sprain. There was immediate frustration, but it was also explainable: the Sixers had another game the following night against the New York Knicks, and even with Embiid, the Sixers would be massive underdogs against a juggernaut Oklahoma City team.
Embiid was surely not going to return and play in both legs of the team's toughest back-to-back of the season. If Embiid could only suit up against Oklahoma City or New York, going for a win in a playoff rematch with the Knicks was the obvious choice.
"Hopefully tomorrow is a good day and he's ready to go," Nurse said before the Sixers came up short against Oklahoma City.
But then...
When the Sixers issued their initial injury report a handful of hours before taking on the Knicks, Embiid had once again been ruled out with his left foot sprain. When Nurse met with the media a few hours later, he reaffirmed that Embiid's injury was a day-to-day matter and express optimism that Embiid could return this weekend, when the Sixers have a road back-to-back (they'll face Indiana on Saturday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday).
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The real inflection point here is Sunday evening in Orlando. Even for a team which many argue mismanages its messaging surrounding injury situations, there would be no reason for the team to provide some sort of misnomer that Embiid was nearing a return, only to pull the rug. Nearly everyone was going to be watching Eagles-Packers that night regardless. There is just no incentive for the team to ever signal that an Embiid is on the verge of returning when it is not the case -- heightened expectations always lead to increased anger.
Additionally, it is worth noting that Embiid traveled with the team to Orlando for a one-off on the road. Oftentimes when the team has known Embiid would not play in a one-game road trip, it has seen no reason to put the seven-foot, 280-pound Embiid on an airplane.
With these two thoughts in mind, it is especially difficult to believe the Sixers listed Embiid as questionable for a Sunday evening game on a Saturday afternoon without thinking there was a legitimate chance he would play.
And if one is to believe that the Sixers' questionable designation was genuine, the question then becomes: what has happened since the weekend that Embiid has since gone back to being ruled out from the get-go? If Embiid does not suit up this weekend, all of these questions will only get louder.
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