Can you imagine if an intern was handling the rehab process for superstars like LeBron James , Nikola Jokic , Kevin Durant or Luka Doncic ? It seems laughable but that's exactly what happened in Joel Embiid's rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers .
In a wide-ranging deep-dive about the enigmatic seven-time All-Star, ESPN's Dotun Akintoye revealed that during the beginning of Embiid's career, an intern was overseeing his rehab following surgery on the navicular bone of his right foot as he was out the entire 2014-15 season.
This was happening while Embiid was telling the organization that his foot wasn't healing properly, but his complaints were falling on deaf ears.
"His relationship with the 76ers unraveled. Embiid believed something was wrong with his injury, but the team brushed it off as laziness, several sources told me," Akintoye reported. "Frustrated, he quit showing up to rehab and training and stopped communicating with the team."
Instead of trying to get to the bottom of Embiid's injury, the 76ers decided to repeatedly fine him. Embiid said he stopped keeping track when the fines reached upwards of $300,000.
"It's worth it," Embiid told Akintoye. "They're not listening to me, and I'm not going to keep putting my body at risk."
That's when then general manager Sam Hinkie took charge of Embiid's health and "raced to modernize the 76ers' health and performance operation."
A year after the surgery, the doctor would reveal during a checkup that Embiid's foot was not healing properly, which was what he was saying the entire time.
"Embiid remembers feeling disappointed but also vindicated," Akintoye wrote. "He was right, and his critics within the organization were wrong. Something had been wrong with his foot. He wasn't imagining pain or making excuses. This was a difficult lesson to unlearn; it is easy to become a prisoner of one's own victories."
Embiid would go on to have a second surgery in the summer of 2015 and miss the first two years of his career after getting drafted.
Injuries, unfortunately, have played a major part of Embiid's career. He only suited up 19 times last season due to a left knee injury he suffered during the 2023-24 season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery, and while president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is optimistic Embiid will be ready by training camp, there's no timetable for his return.
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