Shaquille O’Neal believes the Sixers are ‘done’ following Joel Embiid’s knee injury

INDIANAPOLIS — Shaquille O’Neal’s response was blunt when asked for his outlook on the 76ers’ season, following the knee surgery that will keep reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid sidelined for at least several weeks.

“They’re done,” O’Neal said Thursday night from the Indiana Convention Center ahead of All-Star Weekend. “And that’s the unfortunate thing about life and the unfortunate thing about this league. One little thing can go off.

“And it’s so unfortunate, because if he doesn’t get it done, then you’ve got to start all over. And the older you get, the window closes.”

The comments from O’Neal, the Hall of Fame center and four-time NBA champion, occurred during a small media session before a live on-site broadcast of TNT’s Inside the NBA. Though colleagues Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were less brash in their assessment, they also expressed disappointment in the what-if nature of this season for Embiid and the Sixers.

» READ MORE: Inside the Sixers: Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne’s swift acclimation, celebratory Cleveland, and more

“It all comes down to Joel,” Barkley said. “He was playing great. Fantastic. Probably was going to win his second MVP. Now you’ve just got to sit back and wait, and you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Because they said they’re going to reevaluate him in a month. … Then it’s going to take him a while to get acclimated and get in basketball shape.”

Added Smith: “[It’s] unfortunate, because you go from contender to ‘Maybe we don’t know what we’re going to be.’ … So I just feel disappointed to not know if you really are a contender or not at this point in the year.”

The blow that prompted Embiid’s meniscus procedure happened late in a Jan. 30 loss at the Golden State Warriors, when Jonathan Kuminga fell on Embiid’s leg. The Sixers lost nine of 12 games going into the break, which coincided with Embiid’s absence and a barrage of other health issues. The Sixers acquired sharpshooter Buddy Hield and reserve guard Cameron Payne at the trade deadline, which provided a jolt in their last four games.

O’Neal was particularly disappointed in the timing of Embiid’s injury because, after watching his 70-point outburst against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22, O’Neal said, “I ain’t seen a big man play at that high a level since Hakeem Olajuwon in the Finals. That boy was rolling.

“He had no flaws,” O’Neal added. “Free-throw line jumper. Three-[pointer]. Defense. Leadership. He was playing really good, and I was like, ‘Man. Now, when you play like that, the question is, can you maintain?’ Because you don’t want to be here and go [down a level].”

Embiid’s injury also caused O’Neal to reflect on the times he was sidelined throughout his career. He called those stretches mentally “draining,” because, “If you don’t get [to a championship], it’s your fault. … Nobody cares if you get hurt.” It’s also virtually impossible to physically simulate playoff-style basketball while rehabbing, O’Neal said.

“You’re going to do the B.S. LA Fitness workouts and try to get back in it,” O’Neal said. “But it’s not the same.”

» READ MORE: Why is Nick Nurse excited for Kyle Lowry to join the Sixers? ‘Nobody competes like that guy’

The Sixers’ clunky stretch will take a positive turn this weekend, with Tyrese Maxey’s first All-Star appearance. Smith said he has been impressed with Maxey’s “fearlessness” while putting up career numbers (25.7 points, 6.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds per game) in his ascent to the lead guard spot.

“He can be prolific at times scoring the basketball, but he wasn’t always in the key moments [in past seasons],” Smith said. “The key moments either went to either [James] Harden or Embiid. So now he has a key-moment fearlessness, and I think that is what I was most surprised about.”