DENVER — As the 76ers prepared for Tuesday’s shootaround at Ball Arena, Joel Embiid slipped on a jersey.
A yellow scout-team “pinnie” that the player-development coaches wear during those sessions, that is.
Embiid already had been ruled out for that night’s game against the Nuggets with an oblique strain in his right side that has sidelined the big man for all of March. And hours later, when Embiid emerged from the tunnel wearing a gray “The Process” sweatsuit early in the second half, the home fans instantly (and predictably) booed.
Embiid raised his arm, encouraging them to continue, then mostly watched stoically from the bench as the Nuggets finished a 124-96 demolition of a Sixers team missing four starters.
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The narrative that Embiid deliberately “ducks” games in Denver — aka matchups against three-time MVP Nikola Jokić on his home floor — is ludicrous. But the reality is that Embiid has not played in that building since 2019, making the Mile High City a surprising epicenter of his injury-plagued career while also robbing basketball lovers of several showdowns between two generational big men.
The latest health news surrounding Embiid, however, appears to be trending upward. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said before Tuesday’s game that Embiid was “active” during part of that morning’s shootaround. He also went through an individual workout — which included scrimmaging — after the team session. The Sixers (37-32), who enter Wednesday in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, next play at the Sacramento Kings on Thursday and Utah Jazz on Saturday.
“Everything so far has been pretty positive,” said Nurse, who added that Embiid also had an individual workout on Monday.
Still, Embiid had not recovered enough to renew his on-court competition against Jokić.
They once battled for MVP awards while redefining what is possible for centers, by combining their imposing 7-foot frames with slick skills and versatility to generate eye-popping stat lines. Jokić racked up triple-doubles and became the best passing big man of all time. Embiid created mid-post scoring opportunities off the dribble and protected the rim as a defensive anchor.
Jokić, though, has been a workhorse throughout the majority of his career. That was a factor in him beating out Embiid, who was second, for the MVP award in 2021 and 2022. Embiid won the award for the first time in 2023, before Jokić’s Nuggets won the NBA championship. Jokić reclaimed the award in 2024.
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That the Sixers only make one visit to Denver per season only magnifies each Embiid no-show. But those have occurred while Embiid already was in the middle of a multigame absence because of injury (or, in 2021, COVID-19 health and safety protocols).
The ire directed at Embiid was at its most vicious in January 2024.
Embiid, then the reigning MVP, was basking in the afterglow of his 70-point game against the San Antonio Spurs and averaging more points than minutes played. He also had totaled 41 points and 10 assists in a victory over the Nuggets in Philly earlier that month. That all set up a massive nationally televised rematch in Denver.
Embiid tweaked his left knee during the Sixers’ game at the Indiana Pacers just before traveling to Denver, yet was not listed on the injury report entering that marquee matchup. But after the medical staff did not like how Embiid was moving during his pregame warmup, he was ruled out minutes before tipoff.
The home crowd chanted “Where’s Embiid at?” early in the game. A Denver-based reporter asked Nurse if missing a string of matchups in Denver was a “reflection, at all, on his character,” which the coach dismissed. The Sixers were fined $75,000 for violating the NBA’s injury reporting rules.
After the backlash, Embiid missed one more game at the Portland Trail Blazers before returning against the Golden State Warriors. He visibly labored through that outing before the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga inadvertently fell on Embiid’s knee.
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That moment altered Embiid’s career. The injury required surgery, sidelining him for more than two months before he returned in time for the Sixers’ first-round playoff exit. Then, Embiid only played in 19 games in 2024-25 and eventually needed another surgery.
Earlier this season, it looked as if Embiid had regained his dominance. For a 20-game stretch from Dec. 23 to Feb. 7, he averaged 30 points on 52.7% shooting, eight rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Yet issues in his right knee required management. Then came a stress reaction in his right shin. And this oblique strain, sustained during a Feb. 26 win against the Miami Heat, has kept him out for the past 10 games.
Jokić, meanwhile, was off to another MVP-caliber start this season before sustaining his own knee injury that sidelined him for January’s Sixers-Nuggets matchup in Philly. On Tuesday night, his brilliant playmaking was on full display with 14 assists (eight in the first quarter) along with eight points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes, 48 seconds before sitting out the final period.
After the final buzzer, Embiid walked across the court to greet Jokić during his postgame television interview. He signed jerseys for Sixers fans sitting behind his team’s bench. He lingered inside the visitors’ locker room, watching soccer on a laptop.
It was a quiet end to a day that began with Embiid in a scout-team jersey on the Ball Arena court, before the latest round of boos from the home crowd.
That’s life for Embiid in Denver, a place that now symbolizes his injury-plagued career.
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