Will Joel Embiid play in Game 2? Sixers playing coy about his return against Celtics

The MVP missed Monday’s Game 1 victory with a sprained knee and is officially listed as doubtful to play Wednesday.

Joel Embiid goes through shootaround on Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston before Game 2.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Published May 3, 2023, 11:17 a.m. ET

BOSTON — Tyrese Maxey and De’Antony Melton played it coy when asked if newly minted NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid would return from his knee injury for Wednesday’s Game 2 of the 76ers’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics.

The pre-shootaround exchange happened minutes after Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that Embiid told teammates “I’m back” after he was announced as MVP Tuesday night and that, barring any setbacks, he was on track to play Wednesday night.

”That’s what he said?” Maxey said. “You’re telling me news.”

Added Melton: “He at shootaround? Oh, he here? Oh, we’re lit. Hopefully he can get on the court.”

Embiid was doing some light shooting before Wednesday’s team session began. He missed Monday’s Game 1 victory with a sprained lateral collateral ligament and was officially listed as doubtful to play Wednesday on the NBA’s 10:30 a.m. injury report. He also sat out Game 4 of the Sixers’ first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets on April 22.

Embiid said Wednesday that there’s “a possibility” he plays in Game 2 against the Celtics at TD Garden. He added that he will follow the guidance of the team’s medical staff.

The Sixers pulled off a stunning Game 1 victory without Embiid, anchored by a 45-point effort from James Harden. Maxey added 26 points and Melton scored 17 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range.

The shootaround represented a bridge, of sorts, between Tuesday night’s MVP celebration and Wednesday’s Game 2. Teammates and staff gathered in the team hotel to watch the television announcement, and swarmed an emotional Embiid when he was announced as the winner.

”We’ve been waiting on this since the beginning of the year,” Melton said. “We knew he was going to be the MVP. We felt it. He felt it. So we’re so excited for him to finally get it. Now we can focus on Game 2.”

Added Maxey: “We knew he was getting it. But we didn’t tell him, of course. He was asking me, ‘Why didn’t you tell me I was going to win? I was like, ‘You’re surprised? I thought you knew you were going to win. We’re proud of him, dude. He’s worked for this. Ever since I’ve been here, he’s been in the conversation … and then this year, he finally broke the ice and won. I know it means a lot to him. He puts in a lot of work when nobody’s watching.”