Joel Embiid will likely have to bow out of the NBA MVP race after yet another unfortunate injury.
On Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Philadelphia 76ers star — and season-long NBA MVP frontrunner — would be sidelined through at least the weekend with an injured lateral meniscus in his left knee. Sixers team officials also relayed the same information to the media on Thursday as well.
The news comes hours after the Sixers were fined $75,000 by the NBA for their mishandling of Embiid’s injury status ahead of Saturday’s game versus the Denver Nuggets. Embiid notably injured his knee in a late January game versus the New Orleans Pelicans and missed a pair of games before returning Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.
Sixers star Joel Embiid has an injured lateral meniscus in his left knee and will be out through the weekend while a treament plan is finalized, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 2, 2024
Though it’s unknown how severe Embiid’s injury is, it does place his chance to go back-to-back as NBA MVP in jeopardy. In the NBA, award candidates have to play at least 65 regular season games to be eligible. Embiid has already missed 12 games this season and will miss his 13th on Thursday night. With the maximum amount of games Embiid can miss to still be eligible set at 17, it’s highly likely the Sixers star will go over that number while recovering from this injury.
It’s an unfortunate situation all around. Here’s hoping Embiid recovers quickly enough to help the Sixers with their playoff push and it’s not a season-ending injury.