How will Joel Embiid’s injuries affect his legacy?

How will Joel Embiid be remembered?

Will we recognize the 76ers center for being one of the NBA’s most dominant scorers? Or will we recall his inability to complete an injury-free season?

The latter is as much a part of his legacy as his 180 30-plus-point games and having the third-best scoring average (27.7 points per game) in NBA history among players who’ve appeared in more than 400 games.

As I mentioned before, we all acknowledge that the 7-foot, 280-pounder is going to miss games. The key is getting him to the playoffs healthy. A successful season for the reigning MVP would involve leading the Sixers (24-13) to a deep postseason run.

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So far, he hasn’t advanced beyond the second round in six consecutive postseason appearances. Usually on the eve of the playoffs, or during the playoffs themselves, he suffers nagging ailments or freakish injuries. So, it’s imperative for his peace of mind and the Sixers’ championship hopes that he is healthy in late April and stays that way until June.

But as of now, he’s in jeopardy of missing out on some of the hardware that should come while producing one of the most prolific individual campaigns in NBA history.

Averaging 34.6 points in 34.1 minutes, Embiid is on pace to join Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players since the 1954-55 season to finish with more points than minutes played. Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points in 48.5 minutes for the Philadelphia Warriors during his historical 1961-62 season.

Embiid also joins Chamberlain and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in league history with 15 consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to being this season’s NBA leading scorer, he’s fourth in rebounding (11.8) and is tied for ninth in blocks (2.0) while producing a career-best 6.0 assists.

He has also tallied a 30-point double-double in 20 of his 27 games to lead all players.

But Embiid has missed 10 of the Sixers’ 37 games due to injuries, illness, and rest. After missing the last three games due to a swollen left knee, he’s in jeopardy of being disqualified for NBA regular-season awards.

The NBA, in cooperation with the NBA Players Association, has instituted a 65-game rule for the awards, hoping it’s a way to halt players and teams from excessively using load management as a reason to take off games.

In October, while appearing on “The Carton Show,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue.

“I am concerned that the 65 games will be viewed as the expectation rather than the lowest threshold for winning awards,” Silver said. “We came up with 65 through negotiations with the Players Association. That includes injuries, and that includes potentially longer-term injuries over the course of the season.”

Silver then went on to say, “So the 65 number is more of a failsafe, in terms of incentive, that if a guy was really going to sit out again, having nothing to do with injuries, that he wouldn’t be eligible.

“We’re trying to say, this goes to those fans whether in the arena, or people watching on TV or whatever device, that the expectation in this league now is that we are an 82-game season, and if you’re healthy, you’ll play.”

Sixers coach Nick Nurse addressed Embiid’s status on Friday.

“Again, we still got it as day-to-day and we think he’s going to be back in practice shortly, meaning he’s going to be playing shortly,” Nurse told reporters. “Hopefully, that’s the next game.”

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The next game is on Martin Luther King Day against the Houston Rockets at the Wells Fargo Center.

But Nurse thought that Embiid was ready to play last Friday against Utah, and that didn’t happen.

So when asked to clarify about Embiid’s status for Monday, Nurse responded, “Certainly hopeful, right? But yeah, we’re expecting him to.”

If he is back by MLK Day, the question will be for how long.

Embiid has played in just two of the Sixers’ last nine games. He remained in the game after spraining his right ankle against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 22.

However, that injury sidelined him the next four games. Embiid returned against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 2. He then injured his left knee versus the New York Knicks in the next game, on Jan. 5. But Embiid remained in that game, too. However, he woke up the next morning to a swollen knee and hasn’t played since.

Embiid being sidelined for an extended amount of time has been an annual event since he was selected No. 3 overall in the 2014 draft.

His first two seasons were completely wiped out due to foot surgeries. When Embiid returned for Season 3 (2016-17), he missed 51 games because of season-ending knee surgery. He was sidelined for an average of 18.3 games over the next six seasons.

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So, again, how will he be remembered?

Will we remember him as an unguardable force? Or will we think of Embiid as someone who couldn’t remain healthy?