Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid Facing Uphill Battle

What sometimes separates great athletes from those players who are stuck in mediocrity or entrenched in the abyss of irrelevancy is durability. The ability to stay healthy could be the difference between a long and productive career and one that could never quite get started.

For Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, his career up to this juncture fits in the ladder.

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: The NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All-Time

It was reported early on Aug. 15 by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Embiid will undergo a surgical procedure on Tuesday, Aug. 18 to repair a broken bone in his right foot.

It is the second surgery that Embiid will receive on the same foot — the first coming prior to the 2014 NBA Draft, when the Cameroon native went under the knife to repair a stress fracture. That’s two operations in 14 months for a supremely talented seven-foot big man, who weighs in at 250 pounds.

Things are currently looking bleak for the former third overall pick, who was and is still looked at as a major asset in the Sixers’ rebuild. The array of skills that he has been able to display in a short period of time has intrigued basketball enthusiasts.

While at Kansas, Embiid flashed from the minute he laced up the kicks for the Jayhawks. The abilities he possessed were evident. At seven feet tall, Embiid could run the floor exceptionally well, sky, block shots, rebound and score on the offensive end with either his back to the basket or facing up. Occasionally, Embiid would stretch the floor and knock down shots from the outside.

In March 2014, Embiid suffered a stress fracture in his back, resulting in him missing the Big XII Tournament and NCAA Tournament as he started to enter troubled waters. He declared for the NBA Draft a few months later in April and appeared to be 100 percent healthy.

Embiid appeared to be getting healthy and put on one heck of a show during his pre-draft workout, showing off his insane athleticism. Check out his pre-draft workout below:

With the Cavaliers holding the No. 1 pick, Embiid was widely considered to be selected first overall, but on Jun. 20, he underwent surgery to repair a broken navicular bone in his right foot. That scared the Cavaliers away, but the Sixers decided to take a chance and make a high risk, high reward decision by drafting him.

The surgery put Embiid out for the entire 2014-15 season, but towards the end of the year and after the season concluded, Embiid was ramping up his physical activity and working out at the Sixers practice facility. He was even participating in three-on-three matchups and defeated Nerlens Noel in a one-one tilt.

Playing in the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues seemed like a sure-fire guarantee, until Embiid reinjured his foot again, which will cause him to miss out on the 2015-16 campaign.

Sixers @JoelEmbiid played very well in workouts prior to re-injuring foot & after getting best of Nerlens once told him this is my team now.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 15, 2015

Foot injuries for frontcourt players are highly problematic. Emiid’s status beyond the upcoming season is a major question mark. There’s a chance the highly touted physical specimen never plays in an NBA game and if he suffers another setback, that percentage becomes even larger.

A handful of NBA players have suffered similar foot injuries in the past and although many advancements have been made in the medical field, the same issues often arise, given these athletes put so much weight and stress on their feet.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

Bill Walton was selected No. 1 overall in 1974 by the Portland Trail Blazers, following two national championships and three National Collegiate Player of the Year awards. In 1976-77, Walton only played 65 games, but led the Blazers to an NBA crown and was named Finals MVP.

The next season, after the Blazers won 50 of their first 60 games, Walton suffered a broken foot, then reinjured that foot later in the year, starting a string of foot injuries that would limit him throughout the remainder of his career.

Although Walton won two NBA trophies and and an MVP award, he underwent numerous reconstructive surgeries on his foot, which caused him to retire in 1990. Walton logged 80 games just once in his career.

When Yao Ming was drafted No. 1 by the Houston Rockets in 2002, he was the talk of the NBA. Standing at a gargantuan, 7-foot-6, 300 pounds, many were skeptical of how his game would translate to the NBA. The first few seasons of his career were a success.

A foot injury in 2009 wound up being costly for Yao Ming’s career. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

Due to his worldwide fanfare, Yao was a sensation, but in 2005, injuries started to pile on, with the most debilitating injury occurring in 2009.

In a second round playoff matchup against the Lakers, Yao was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. That injury was later diagnosed as a hairline fracture in his left foot. At first, he didn’t undergo surgery, but a few months later he did undergo surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot and he missed the 2009-10 season.

After making his return in 2010, Yao went down in December with a stress fracture in his left ankle — an injury that was related to his previous foot problems. In July of 2011, Yao announced his retirement at the age of 30.

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant had an injury-riddled season this past year. The 2013-14 NBA MVP was first diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his right foot, causing him to miss the first 17 games of the year. Then, in February, Durant was briefly out of action after undergoing a minor surgery on the same foot. A month later, a foot surgery was performed that put Durant out for the remainder of the year.

Kevin Durant is working his way back from multiple foot injuries Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Durant recently talked about his slew of foot injuries while in Las Vegas for the USA Basketball minicamp, where he appeared to be healthy. His long term status, though, will remain a question until he proves that he can stay on the floor.

Durant is in a different situation than the previously mentioned frontcourt players because he has a slight, 240-pound frame. But he’s still 6’9″ and has to rely on his athleticism to put the biscuit in the basket. We’ll see how his foot responds.

On the bright side of the Embiid predicament, Zydrunas Ilgauskas suffered a bevvy of foot injuries during the early parts of his career, but he underwent a foot surgery that saved his career. Ilgauskas went on to play 13 productive seasons in the association.

There are reasons to remain optimistic.

Yes, Embiid is set to undergo his second surgery, but he’s still only 21 years old, so youth is on his side. If health somehow gets on his side too, Embiid could be a major building block to pair alongside Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel that could bring the Sixers back.

Next: Miami Heat: Grading The Offseason

Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid Facing Uphill Battle

By Chase Senior | Aug 16, 2015

More from Hoops Habit