76ers' Joel Embiid Gives Coy Response When Asked About Health Status
The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t sure they’d have All-Star center Joel Embiid, and everyone else definitely wasn’t sure the 76ers had what it took to beat the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Embiid returned from his April 9 appendectomy for Game 4 last Sunday, April 26. The Celtics took a 3-1 series lead behind a dominant 128-96 win. But after that, it became crystal clear that Embiid would do anything to avoid going 0-4 in a playoff series against Boston in his career.
Celtics All-Star guard Jaylen Brown knocked Embiid’s knee in the third quarter of Game 5, causing Embiid to limp off the floor and visit the locker room. But the 2023 NBA MVP only missed two minutes and 35 seconds of game time before returning to the game and leading the 76ers to a 113-97 win to force Game 6.
Philadelphia won Game 6 by a convincing score of 106-93 to force a Game 7 on Saturday night, in which Embiid came up grimacing and limping several times. No matter: Embiid led the 76ers with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists to put the unsuspecting nail in the Celtics’ coffin - winning 109-100 to complete the 3-1 comeback and eliminate Boston for the first time in his career.
During his postgame press conference, Embiid was asked how his body felt “as the series progressed.” He responded with a smile, “I feel great. I feel amazing. I was faking it.”
Elsewhere in his presser, he addressed whether he drew inspiration from LeBron James’ famous fit when he and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. Embiid showed up Saturday wearing very similar sunglasses and wired earbuds.
“I always wear these earphones anyways,” Embiid said through an unsuppressable smile. “I got shown the pictures. I know I don’t always wear shades, but I felt like it would be good to come out in Boston and beat them, so I wanted to dress all black. I think it was just a coincidence. But, yeah, if you want to compare that to what [James] did, that was amazing what he did. But I think it was just a coincidence. Allegedly.”
While Embiid was understandably in a playful mood after winning Game 7, which had been elusive for his entire career, he was more seriously reflective on all he’s had to play through - knee injuries, facial fractures, a foot fracture, and a Bell’s palsy diagnosis, to name a few - in order to be here after the 76ers’ Game 5 win.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of stuff over my career,” Embiid told reporters last Tuesday. “I don’t complain. I just want to give as much as I can every single time I step on the floor. I know a lot of people might have takes of that I might be lazy or whatever, but every single time I’m on the floor, I want to play as hard as possible.”
He added, “I’m just thankful to be in a position where I get to play. I don’t know how long I have [that] I can do this, so I just want to enjoy as much as possible.”
At the very least, Embiid has one more series. The 76ers and New York Knicks will begin the Eastern Conference semifinals with Game 1 on Monday night.
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This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 7:43 PM.