Sixers

Joel Embiid had More Points Than Minutes on his Injury Return

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 25th, 2026 · 12:27 PM EST

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Agree with this:

We need to talk about Joel Embiid more…

He’s a walking 30 piece. He hasn’t played in 3 weeks, rolls out his first game & drops 27/6/5. Unreal. Nobody else does this & does it consistently. Dude battles injuries more than anyone & remains elite. A freak.pic.twitter.com/dMQwxxuShT

— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) February 25, 2026

Joel Embiid returned to the Sixers’ lineup on Tuesday night and had more points (27) than minutes played (26). They thumped the Pacers, who have 15 wins and are wracked with injuries, but the fact of the matter is that Joel has looked like vintage Joel when he’s been on the court this season. He was 11 for 17 from the floor, 4-5 from the foul line, and grabbed six boards while tossing five assists. He turned the ball over four times, which is to be expected.

Embiid had a couple of kick out assists right off the bat on Tuesday night. He then slipped a screen to roll to the basket for a layup, followed by a catch-and-shoot three pointer and an elbow pull-up jumper. He picked out Trendon Watford on a really nice cut and then just bullied his way to a layup on another rim roll.

Whatever’s going on with Joel’s health, it hasn’t impacted his offensive game. He walks back onto the floor after two and a half weeks and picks up right where he left off. We’re not gonna get irrationally excited about the Sixers after one good Joel game, but the thing that’s positive is if they do land the plane with a healthy Embiid for the playoffs, then it’ll be a long time coming. Nobody realistically thought he’d be this good this season.