Washington (AFP) – Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid says he feels “pretty good” as the NBA season approaches and hopes to be a more consistent presence on the court after injuries limited him to 19 games in the last campaign.
“There’s not necessarily an expectation,” the Cameroon-born big man said Friday as the Sixers hosted their pre-season media day at their training facility in Camden, New Jersey. “It’s more about making sure everything is right and doing everything right and then go from there. Obviously the goal is to play consistently and not be the position that we were last year.”
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Embiid was limited by knee and foot injuries last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April. He had surgery on the same knee in February 2024.
“Everybody that knows me knows I want to play,” the two-time NBA scoring champion said. “I want to play very single game.” But Embiid said he wouldn’t force it. “I want to be as honest as possible. I think going forward we’re just going to listen to the body,” he said. “I’ll be honest and say it’s going to be unpredictable at times, and that’s OK. We’re going to work with that. You’ve got to take it day by day. We’re on the right path. If there’s something that happens, it’s OK. Focus on fixing it and keep going. That’s my mentality.”
Paul George, who had left knee surgery in July after suffering an injury in training, is also taking things “one day at a time” as he hopes for a healthier season. “The next couple of weeks is very important, leading into the season, start of the season, all of that stuff,” said the nine-time All-Star, who dealt with multiple injuries last season. “Can’t get no worse than last year,” he said. “That was a rock-bottom type of season.”
The 76ers, who finished 13th in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 24-58, head next week to Abu Dhabi for two pre-season games against the New York Knicks.
© 2024 AFP
