‘I feel bad for him’: Joel Embiid’s knee surgery erases one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history

It’s as if one of the most historic individual seasons in NBA history never even happened.

Tuesday will be remembered as the day Joel Embiid underwent surgery to correct a meniscus injury in his left knee. It was also the day the statistics of the 76ers center, aka the NBA’s most dominant player, were erased from the official league statistical leaders lists.

That’s because NBA players must compete in 70% of their games for their statistics to be recognized.

After missing Monday’s 118-102 loss to Dallas Mavericks, Embiid’s participation dropped to 69.4%.

So as Embiid woke up to have surgery, Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić suddenly was the new scoring leader at 34.5 points. Embiid, who is averaging 35.3 points, is also no longer recognized at sixth in rebounds (11.3) and 10th in blocks (1.8).

But that kind of slipped through the cracks, as the news of the day centered on his surgery.

The Sixers announced that Embiid will be reevaluated in four weeks with the hope of returning this season. While the Sixers didn’t announce what procedure he underwent, that timeline falls in line with a partial meniscectomy, as Dr. Meghan Bishop, a sports medicine surgeon at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, explained to The Inquirer.

During a partial meniscectomy, the surgeon arthroscopically would remove a piece of the meniscus. If Embiid had surgery to repair the meniscus, his recovery time would have been around four months.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Nick Nurse: Joel Embiid ‘a little up and down’ as he prepares to have surgery

This surgery gives the Sixers (30-19) clarity heading into Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. They can now focus on acquiring a player who can help hold down the fort until Embiid’s expected return next month. It also enables the Sixers to create a recovery plan for him.

While that plan takes shape, Embiid will be sidelined as his most dominant season is erased.

And that doesn’t even account for him becoming ineligible for a second consecutive MVP and first-team All-NBA honors. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players must compete in 65 games to be eligible for end-of-season awards. Having already missed 15 games because of injuries, ailments, and rest, Embiid will be disqualified after missing home contests against Golden State Warriors (Wednesday) and Atlanta Hawks (Friday).

“You definitely feel for him, especially a guy putting up numbers like that,” teammate Jaden Springer said. “That’s not normal. The year he was having, it’s kind of sad how he got kind of injured right now with the new rules and stuff.

“But I feel like we’re pretty confident he’ll get back to 100%, and I feel like we are going to pick up right where we left off.”

While his teammates are optimistic, Embiid has a knack for quickly getting out of shape when injured or taking time off to rest. So even after he’s cleared to play, the seven-time All-Star’s conditioning might determine his timeline to return. Perhaps that’s why he’s reportedly scheduled to return in six to eight weeks.

The additional time will Embiid ramp up for the playoffs will likely be the priority. And even when he does return, one would assume the Sixers will keep up with his minutes and sit him during one game of back-to-backs.

» READ MORE: With Joel Embiid out, Sixers should push to acquire Andre Drummond at trade deadline

But four weeks from Tuesday is March 2. The Sixers will play the Brooklyn Nets that night at the Barclays Center. Including that contest, there will be 22 regular-season games remaining. Even if Embiid played in those games, he would only have competed in 56 matchups, or 68.2% of the Sixers’ season.

As a result, Embiid still would not get recognized for what was shaping up to be one of the all-time great seasons.

We marveled when he finished with a franchise-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds, five assists, and just one turnover in the 133-123 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The performance marked the first time in league history that a player had registered at least 70 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a game. At that time, Embiid’s point total was an NBA season-high, surpassing the 64 points Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 13. Dončić would surpass Embiid with a 73-point performance in a 148-143, victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 26.

» READ MORE: Having Joel Embiid healthy for the postseason has to be the Sixers’ priority

“Again, I feel really bad for him,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s having a historic season. I thought just everything he’s done from practice hard, he prepped hard. He was just doing everything at a super-high level.

“For me, like I’m new, [he’s ] a competitive dude, practice, games or whatever. … I feel bad for him.”