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The Broad Street Line · Player focus

Embiid's Health Is the Only Number That Decides This Season

Last season's 38 games prove the talent was never the question.

5 questions
By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Sunday, September 27

Joel Embiid averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists last season, with a true shooting mark of 60.5 percent that most centers never touch. He needed only 38 games to produce it, and the gap between what he does and how often he does it is the story of his tenth season in Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid of the 76ers
Joel Embiid. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How many games did Embiid actually play last season?

Thirty-eight. Across those games he averaged 31.6 minutes, 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists a night. The talent was never in question; availability was. Right now he isn't listed on the injury report at all, while Adem Bona is working back from a foot and leg issue with an October 1 target return.

Is Embiid still an MVP-level offensive player?

By the efficiency numbers, yes. His 60.5 percent true shooting and 119.1 offensive rating both ran well ahead of the team's 114.3 mark last season, and he carried a 33.6 percent usage rate while doing it. He also hit 33.3 percent from three on 4.2 attempts a game, range that wasn't part of his game a decade ago.

What does he give Philadelphia on defense?

Less than the offense, on paper. His 113.2 defensive rating last season sat close to the team's own 114.4 mark, and 1.2 blocks with 0.6 steals a game are modest returns for a center anchoring a defense. His 5.8 individual net rating still says the possessions he plays are decisively won.

What is Philadelphia actually paying for?

$58.1 million this season, then $62.7 million in 2027-28, with a $67.4 million player option after that. Embiid is the single largest contract on a roster carrying $213.2 million in salary. Every dollar of it is a bet that the 38-game version of him scales back up toward a full slate of games.

Does he need to carry the offense the way he used to?

Not alone anymore. Jaylen Brown averaged 28.7 points and Tyrese Maxey put up 28.3 last season, and LeBron James arrives after averaging 20.9 elsewhere. Embiid doesn't have to run a 33.6 percent usage rate every night with that much scoring around him; he needs to be efficient across fewer possessions, not spread thinner across more of them.

The verdictEmbiid remains the most efficient scorer on this roster whenever he's actually playing. The 2026-27 season isn't about whether he can still be great across 38 games — it's about whether that number can finally climb higher.
How many games did Joel Embiid play last season?

He played 38 games, averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 31.6 minutes a night.

Is Joel Embiid injured right now?

No, he is not on the current injury report. Adem Bona is the 76ers' listed injury concern, dealing with a foot and leg issue with an October 1 target return.

By the 76ers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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