At the beginning of this month, Shams Charanis tweeted that Joel Embiid would be out for the season. After just 19 games in, the former MVP’s season comes to a halt, and rumors of early retirement also swirl around the 76ers stars. Recently, Dwight Howard, who was a teammate of the 30-year-old, made a startling revelation about the franchise, which could have impacted Cameroon’s injury worries. “While I was there, the one thing I observed was that during our practices…”

The 3x DPOY was the backup for Embiid during the 202o-21 season. That year, the team was the number one seed in the Eastern Conference but lost in the semifinals. The Process would finish the season as the runner-up for the MVP award. However, there was one issue that Dwight Howard noticed. “When I was in there, there were a lot of times when I got reprimanded for being too physical in practice. ‘You are too physical with Joel.‘” Yes, the former champion revealed that the management advised him not to be too hard during training sessions.

“I’m like ‘Hey, I’m only being physical because he is about to get this in the game.” This plea from the DH-12 was apparently unheard, as the team seemingly wanted to protect Embiid during practices. Who would blame them? Their star Center had already missed two seasons after his draft and crossed the 60 regular games mark only twice in eight years. Because of his stint with the 76ers and apparent practice session issues, Howard came to the rescue of the 7x All-Star.

“When the man tell you his situation listen 🤷🏾‍♂️Joel said he wasn’t going to play back to backs to prevent this now he out the whole season  … yall forgot he missed 2 seasons before he was even a rookie?” Earlier this season, Embiid spoke to ESPN: “I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.” Many fans and analysts like Shaquille O’Neal previously called out Embiid’s concerns as a lack of discipline.

Another advice from Dwight Howard for Joel Embiid that again went unheard

For two straight years, the 2023 MVP has fought through pain—physically and mentally. Embiid’s problems began last year when Jonathan Kuminga accidentally fell on his leg during a Warriors game. That incident led to a torn meniscus in his left knee, limiting him to playing only 39 games. The lingering effect was seen this season! The 76ers superstar fought to stay on the court, even taking injections to manage the pain.

At the start of the season, Dwight Howard had a suggestion not only for the team but for the star Center as well. “I think Embiid should take less minutes for the regular season so he can stay healthy and ramp it up later on in the season.” The former champion continued on KG Certified, “Don’t use so much energy now. Like, I feel like he’s been trying to chase something—this MVP or the best player in the league right now—for the regular season and for what?”

After just 19 games, Embiid won’t feature for the 76ers this year. During his time on the hardwood, he produced 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds with 44.4 FG%. Nowhere near his best, but it was still a major feat considering the situation he was in.