Philadelphia 76ers fans continue to await any sort of update on the health of center Joel Embiid, and whether the former MVP has any chance of returning to star form again in 2025. Coming off a season where Embiid appeared in just 19 games, his lowest mark since the 2016-17 season, fans are growing exhausted of the continuing injury saga centered around the 31-year-old.
However, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has now provided a key update on the health of Embiid regarding his potential availability for training camp, and although it's not exactly something that will make Philly fans jump for joy, it's still something.
"I'm not sure...All the news is positive," Nurse told talkSPORT. "I know he's working very, very hard. And I think things look good. Whether he's ready for training camp or not, I think there's maybe a lot more decisions than that to make before we get there. But our main thing is that he's healthy to play and play near his capabilities, because, you know, he's awesome. No doubt about that, when he's on the floor, any night he's out there, we got a chance to win, which is amazing. And, we just want to make sure to get him healthy and let him play for a longer period of time."
Nick Nurse Has a Largely Positive Injury Update on Joel Embiid
There were certainly some positives in that update from Nurse, who's entering his third season as the head coach in Philadelphia. According to him, there is some upside that Embiid could be fully healthy for the regular season. Although there was also a lot of vagueness in those answers, which makes sense.
Embiid has about a month and a half to get ready if he were to take part in training camp, as the Sixers begin preseason play in the 2025 NBA Abu Dhabi Games on October 2nd and 4th, facing off against the New York Knicks in both contests.
Reports indicate that there's a lot of optimism that Embiid could come back sooner rather than later, and he can be fully healthy once he does. Nurse hinted at the main focal point being to keep the team's cornerstone healthy for a longer duration of time as opposed to getting him back as quickly as possible.
As the Sixers look to ink a deal with restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, Embiid's health will be the next domino to fall through Philadelphia's offseason.