Joel Embiid made his highly-anticipated return to the court last night against the OKC Thunder. He had been out for 29 straight games following a meniscus injury in his knee. Despite missing over two months of action, Embiid led the Sixers to a 109-105 victory. He scored 24 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds in 29 minutes of play. However, his victorious return wasn’t enough to earn the belief of Stephen A. Smith.

The veteran analyst talked about Joel Embiid’s early return on the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show. With Embiid back in the lineup, the ESPN analyst revealed how much noise he thinks the Sixers can make in the playoffs. “I say not much. Simply because I don’t trust the health of Joel Embiid.” There is no denying that Embiid is a monster when he is on the court. He was en route to becoming a back-to-back MVP before he got injured in January. But Embiid’s health has been his Achilles heel throughout his career.

The analyst reminded everyone that Joel Embiid started his NBA career with an injury. After getting drafted by the Sixers in 2014, Embiid missed two full seasons because of a fracture in his right foot. Stephen A. Smith further highlighted Embiid’s injury-prone nature. “This is the brother that literally will get injured walking in his kitchen or walking up the stairs in his house”, he said. That is why Stephen A. believes a Joel Embiid-led Sixers will likely be unable to get past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round if they qualify through the play-in tournament.

Injuries have plagued Joel Embiid’s career

This year is not the first time Joel Embiid has missed a major chunk of the season because of injury. He has always found it hard to stay available for 82 games. After missing the first two years of his career, Embiid officially made his NBA debut during the 2016-17 season. But the Center tore his left meniscus after playing only 31 games in his rookie season. He averaged 20.2 points in that limited time but had to sit out for the remainder.

Embiid’s injury problems did not end there. The following season, Embiid suffered an orbital fracture after a collision with then-teammate Markelle Fultz. The injury caused him to miss 10 games, including two in the playoffs. He missed 14 games during the 2018-19 season because of knee issues. Embiid then failed to cross the 51-game mark in the next two seasons because of left-hand surgery, followed by a knee injury in 2021.

Joel Embiid’s track record shows he can miss significant time because of injury at any point in the season. And Stephen A. Smith does not want to bet on a team whose leader might not be available for the entire post-season.

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