Embiid, George ruled out of 76ers' opener vs. Bucks
Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George won't play Wednesday in the team's season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks due to their respective knee injuries, the 76ers announced Tuesday, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.
Embiid was ruled out for the entire opening week of the season. George, meanwhile, will be re-evaluated later in the week.
After Milwaukee's visit, the 76ers hit the road for games against the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers on Friday and Sunday, respectively. They don't play again until Wednesday when they host the Detroit Pistons.
Embiid missed the team's entire preseason slate due to what the team called injury management for his surgically repaired left knee. The 30-year-old center underwent a procedure in February to repair his meniscus while missing two months of the regular season. He returned for Philadelphia's first-round series against the New York Knicks and posted a 50-point performance in Game 3 before suiting up for Team USA at the Summer Games in Paris.
The former MVP hasn't suffered any setbacks since helping the U.S. win gold at the Olympics, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse told Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"He's really active. He's lost some weight. He's out on the court, et cetera," Nurse said Tuesday. "Just kind of sticking with our plan of making sure we're getting him in a really, really good place before we get him playing live."
George, who signed a four-year, $212-million contract with the 76ers in free agency, hyperextended his left knee in an Oct. 14 preseason contest against the Atlanta Hawks. Subsequent medical imaging ruled out structural damage but confirmed a bone bruise, and George was projected to miss one week at minimum.
Despite leading the league in scoring last season, Embiid didn't qualify for the scoring title or the MVP award due to playing just 39 games. The NBA last season instituted a new rule requiring players to play in at least 65 games (in an 82-game season) in order to qualify for end-of-season awards. Embiid had otherwise been putting together a strong MVP case, averaging a career-best 34.7 points plus 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.2 steals with 52.9/38.8/88.3 shooting splits.
George had his healthiest campaign as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24. He made 74 starts after never playing more than 56 games for the Clippers in a single season. The 34-year-old registered 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals and shot a career-high 41.3% from deep on 7.9 attempts per contest.