Joel Embiid has thumb and finger surgery, will be ready for camp
Joel Embiid suffered a right thumb injury in Game 4 of the 76ers’ first-round series vs. Toronto.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid had surgery on Monday to repair two injured fingers, per the team.
Embiid had surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right thumb, which bothered him during the team’s 2022 playoff run. Additionally, he had a procedure to repair an injury to his left index finger. Neither is expected to impact his readiness for training camp in the fall.
Embiid’s right thumb injury was initially disclosed during the Sixers’ first-round series against the Toronto Raptors. He played through that injury as Philadelphia defeated Toronto before being eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Miami Heat.
Sixers say that Joel Embiid underwent surgery Monday to repair the torn ligament in his right thumb. Separately, a procedure was also performed to repair an injury to his left index finger. Neither is expected to impact Embiid's availability for training camp.
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) May 31, 2022
Embiid played through the injury in Philadelphia’s Game 4 loss to the Raptors, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the 110-102 defeat in Toronto. He played the remaining two games of that series and averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. However, he also suffered a right orbital fracture and concussion in Game 6 against Toronto that knocked him out of Games 1 and 2 of the series vs. Miami.
Embiid was the league scoring champion and gutted out the playoffs, playing with a mask to protect his broken face. He suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee in last year’s playoffs.
Jimmy Butler runs wild in Game 6 to oust Joel Embiid and the 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Right when the thumb happened, I’m a realist, you knew that was going to be a struggle,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said on May 13. “For your best player two years in a row to have to go and play in the playoffs not being right is difficult. It really is. And that’s where obviously we need to just make sure we support them and keep giving them more help. So when those things happen we can still steady the fort.”
The Sixers lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals four times since 2018 — once as a No. 1 seed — and were swept in the first round in 2020. They haven’t advanced past the semifinals since 2001 and only twice (1985 being the other) since winning their last NBA championship in 1983.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
