How does Joel Embiid feel during this injury-riddled season? Paul George understands more than most.

Both players have missed substantial time during the Sixers' slow start, but Embiid's chronic knee injury has taken a deeper mental toll.

Joel Embiid has only played five games as he manages his surgically repaired left knee.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Dec. 12, 2024, 5:17 p.m. ET

Paul George knows more than most about the mental toll injuries have put Joel Embiid through.

Embiid returned to the court Sunday afternoon and led the 76ers to a road victory over the Chicago Bulls. After finishing with 31 points and 12 rebounds, Embiid reiterated that he’s been dealing with depression. He told ESPN that he didn’t reinjure his left knee but acknowledged that missing 17 of the Sixers’ 22 games largely because of knee swelling has been “extremely annoying.”

With his own list of ailments, George could share some advice with his teammate when it comes to being mentally sound.

“To be honest, it’s something, if you haven’t gone through it, you wouldn’t understand,” George said Thursday after practice. “I think that’s the toughest part about this game.

“We build ourselves up so much. The media builds us up. The community builds us up. Then you face an injury that you know you’re not yourself. You’re not the same, but you are expected to be yourself when you get on that floor. So, mentally, it is tough.”

When healthy, Embiid arguably is the NBA’s most dominant player. He was the 2023 league MVP, a two-time scoring champion, a five-time All-NBA selection, and a seven-time All-Star.

But Embiid was limited to just 39 games last season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee on Jan. 30 against the Golden State Warriors. Before that, the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder was having one of the most prolific individual campaigns in NBA history.

Averaging 34.7 points in 33.6 minutes, Embiid was 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. But his statistics didn’t count because a player must participate in at least 70% of his team’s games for his numbers to stand among league leaders. As a result, Embiid needed to play in 58 games out of the 82-game regular season for his stats to count.

Before Sunday’s game, Embiid was a shell of the player he was last season. He averaged 19.8 points on 37.9% shooting, while making just 3 of 18 three-pointers. While the standout center moved and shot well against the Bulls, that came after 17 days of rest. The big unknown is how Embiid’s left knee responds to playing three games in six days or four in seven.

Meanwhile, George has played in only 12 of the Sixers’ games because he hyperextended his knee twice and suffered two bone bruises.

Because of their injuries, both players are donning bulky braces on their left knees.

“It is hard to come to grips and try to figure out how can I kind of close the distance of where I was while being in this new retooling of everything,” George said. “So I 100% understand where he comes from because it’s a battle. It’s mind-blowing. And for him, he’s been so dominant and can do everything on the floor, when something is not there physically, you notice it. But again, every case is different. Everybody has to find that for themselves.”

George first learned how to deal with the mental side of injuries after suffering a compound fracture in his left leg during the U.S. national team’s intrasquad scrimmage at UNLV on Aug. 1, 2014. At the time, he was a member of the Indiana Pacers. He missed all but the final six games of the 2014-15 season.

George also had his share of injuries the last five seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The nine-time All-Star did not make his Clippers debut until Nov. 14, 2019, after missing the first 11 games following shoulder surgery. George went on to miss 127 regular-season games while playing for his hometown team.

So how did George cope mentally with not being himself after undergoing surgeries to repair a leg fracture, shoulder injuries, and a partially torn meniscus?

“You have no choice,” he said. “It’s a no-choice type of thing. Your love for the game allows you to be in the mindset to get better and you’ll figure it out. You’ll figure it out. You’ll learn your body. You’ll learn how to adjust.

“It’s just that passion for the game that speaks volumes when it comes to injuries and how you cope with it and get through it.”

Facing the Pacers

Embiid and George hope to lead the Sixers (7-15) to their fifth victory in six games when they host the Pacers (10-15) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. The duo missed the teams’ previous meeting, a 118-114 overtime Sixers victory on Oct. 27 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

While the Sixers are elated to have Embiid back, they’re fully aware that his availability is a fluid situation that is determined by how his knee responds.

“I don’t think we can all get too giddy and happy that he’s played a couple of games in a row,” coach Nick Nurse said, “or he’s played a game, right? We can’t get too down or despaired if he doesn’t play a couple of games, right?

“We’ve just got to go out and get ready. And I give our guys [credit], seriously, I’m really proud of how they’ve handled both really well.”