Sixers

Non-Committal Sixers Fans Thought Joel Embiid’s Next Injury was Just Around the Corner, and Sure Enough…

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 19th, 2026 · 10:25 AM EST

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You probably saw this on Wednesday night from the Sixers, but Joel Embiid won’t play against the Hawks:

Joel Embiid medical update:

While participating in a right knee injury management program during the All-Star break, Joel Embiid reported soreness in his right shin. Following a consultation with doctors, Embiid has received daily treatment, while progressing through on-court work and strength and conditioning.

He will be OUT of tomorrow night’s game vs. Atlanta and reevaluated ahead of the team’s back-to-back this weekend.

Further updates will be provided later this week.

The Sixers play a road/road back-to-back in New Orleans and Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday, then go to Indy for a Tuesday game.

Embiid has not played since February 7th (Phoenix) and missed the Portland and New York games going into the All-Star break.

If it felt like a lot of people were keeping the Sixers at arm’s length, it’s because of this. They didn’t want to commit because they thought Embiid’s next injury was inevitable, and just around the corner. They felt like his two-month run of form was too good to be true and so they didn’t commit a lot of time and energy because they didn’t want to get burned again. It’s the old “fool me once” thing that had a lot of casual fans staying on the periphery. It’s hard to blame them considering how much equity we all put into the Sixers between 2017 and 2023. There’s just not much more to give in expectation of a fair return.

So here we are coming out of the All-Star break with no Embiid and no Paul George, who remains suspended. It’ll be Sixers vs. Hawks with Tyrese Maxey once again having to carry the load. The team is 30-24 and better than we thought, but they are 6th in the Eastern Conference and would play the Knicks in the first round, without home court advantage, if the season ended today.

Does anybody feel confident in winning that series? I don’t.

You want to be positive about this team and support the Sixers, but it’s hard. It’s really hard. Even cautious optimism is a hard sell right now. Best-case scenario, Joel’s soreness goes away and he plays one of the weekend games, but even then, he’s not going out there two nights in a row. Getting him in Nola and Indy feels like a miracle at this point.