Embiid returns to court after 8-month absence

PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid started for the Philadelphia 76ers successful their preseason finale Friday night, his archetypal crippled enactment successful astir 8 months.

And helium flirted with a triple-double.

Embiid, who was constricted to 19 games past play due to the fact that of injuries, finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists successful 19 minutes successful Philadelphia's 126-110 victory implicit the Minnesota Timberwolves. He besides had 3 steals, and the 76ers outscored the Wolves by 12 points erstwhile Embiid was connected the floor.

Philadelphia manager Nick Nurse said earlier the crippled that Embiid would person "fairly short" stints of enactment and held existent to that plan. Embiid didn't play successful the 4th quarter.

The 76ers unfastened the regular play astatine Boston connected Wednesday night.

Embiid didn't instrumentality agelong to get going Friday. He tried a 3-pointer, which missed, connected Philadelphia's archetypal possession conscionable 7 seconds into the contest. He played astir six minutes successful his archetypal stint to unfastened the game, past played the archetypal 3 minutes of the 2nd 4th for his 2nd stint.

It was Embiid's archetypal crippled since Feb. 22. He missed the archetypal 9 games of Philadelphia's 2024-25 season, ne'er played much than 4 consecutive games and coiled up being unopen down for the last 26 games of the twelvemonth arsenic the 76ers sputtered to a 24-58 finish.

Embiid has been engaged successful airy practices since the 76ers opened camp, and the perennially injured All-Star halfway has said successful caller weeks that determination was a "plan successful place" to play pursuing genu country successful April.

A two-time NBA scoring champion, Embiid had arthroscopic country connected his near genu successful April pursuing an injury-plagued play that besides included a sprained near ft and a sinus fracture. He was ruled retired for the play successful precocious February aft averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

"I've had truthful galore injuries," Embiid said past month. "The lone happening I've ever told myself is you can't springiness up."