Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has knee surgery, to be re-evaluated in 4 weeks
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid underwent surgery Tuesday to repair an injury to his lateral meniscus in his left knee. The Sixers said Tuesday that Embiid will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Embiid, 29, suffered the injury last week in the Sixers' 119-107 loss to the Warriors after Golden State power forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on his left leg with 4:04 left in the game.
An MRI last Wednesday revealed Embiid suffered an injury to his lateral meniscus.
The knee surgery will keep Embiid out of Feb. 18's NBA All-Star Game. The 7-footer had been named a starter for the seventh time.
Embiid's injury will make him ineligible to defend his NBA MVP award. The NBA and NBA Players Association agreed to a new rule before the season that states that a player must play at least 65 of the 82 scheduled regular-season games to be eligible for awards. Embiid missed his 15th game of the season Monday night.
Before the injury, Embiid was having another MVP-caliber season for the Sixers. He's averaging a career-high and NBA-leading 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
On Jan. 22, Embiid set a franchise record with 70 points in Philadelphia's 133-124 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Not Embiid's first meniscus injury
Embiid is no stranger to playing through pain or various injuries throughout his career. He's fractured his orbital bone in his face and injured the navicular bone in his foot, among other ailments.
But a meniscus injury is something the big fella has dealt with three times in his career.
During his rookie year in the 2016-17 season, Embiid underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Years later in the 2021 playoffs, Embiid suffered a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
And in last year's playoffs, Embiid played through a sprained right knee that he suffered in the first round of the playoffs against the Nets.