Embiid healthy, 'extra motivated' as LeBron joins Sixers
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- Sixers president Mike Gansey told ESPN that Joel Embiid is healthy and "extra motivated" this summer, his first healthy offseason in a while, with the center in the gym lifting weights and working out daily.
- Joel Embiid has played just 96 combined regular-season games over the past three years and hasn't topped 40 games in a season since his 2022-23 MVP campaign, per the ESPN report.
- Embiid appeared in only 38 regular-season games in 2025-26, underwent an emergency appendectomy on April 9, then missed multiple playoff games due to ankle and hip injuries.
- LeBron James spoke directly with Embiid during free agency to gauge his health before signing, according to James's agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group.
- The Sixers will finalize a game-by-game plan for Embiid after the NBA schedule is released next week, with input from Embiid, performance staff, and coach Nick Nurse.
- Philadelphia's projected starting five — James, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, and Embiid — will require sacrifice but has "anyone can be the guy" upside, Gansey said.
- The Brown acquisition cost Philadelphia Paul George plus two first-round and two second-round picks sent to the Celtics.
Why it matters: Embiid's availability is the single swing variable for Philadelphia's championship hopes — he's played just 96 of roughly 246 possible regular-season games over the past three years. If he stays on the floor, the Sixers' LeBron-Brown-Maxey-Edgecombe core becomes a legitimate contender; if not, Philadelphia is paying max money for a centerpiece who can't stay healthy enough to justify the build. The team will lock in a load management plan once the schedule drops.