No timelines set for 76ers stars Embiid, George

CAMDEN, New Jersey -- There isn't a definitive timeline for Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George to instrumentality from their respective genu surgeries, some players said Friday astatine the team's media day.

Embiid said helium feels "pretty good" but he's taking it day-by-day and checking boxes arsenic helium progresses toward a return.

"There's not needfully an expectation; it's much astir making definite everything is close and doing everything close and past spell from there," helium said. "Obviously the extremity is to play consistently and not beryllium the presumption that we were past year."

Embiid was constricted to 19 games past play owed to his ongoing near genu wounded and a ft sprain, officially shutting down his run successful precocious February. He averaged 23.8 points per game, his fewest since the 2019-20 season, and 8.2 rebounds, the erstwhile NBA MVP's fewest since his rookie twelvemonth successful 2016-17.

He underwent arthroscopic country connected his near genu successful April, with a reevaluation timeline of six weeks. Friday's media day, however, was the archetypal authoritative wellness update since the country and the archetypal clip Embiid has spoken publically since February.

Embiid was asked whether determination were immoderate on-court adjustments helium could marque moving guardant to debar injury.

"At times you can't get retired of yourself," helium said. "All I cognize is, ever since I started this, to play hard, play some ends. There's a batch of radical successful the league that play 1 side, whether it's discourtesy oregon defense. A batch of times for me, my mentality is to bash immoderate it takes to win. For each of my career, it's been having to bash both."

"I've gotten to this constituent due to the fact that of however bully I americium astatine some ends of the floor. If you inquire maine to alteration the mode I play, the lone conjecture that I person is either play discourtesy afloat and instrumentality plays disconnected defensively, which doesn't suit me," Embiid continued. "I don't deliberation I'd ever beryllium OK with that. I don't know. We'll conscionable hold and see. If it's gotta beryllium that way, it's decidedly gonna beryllium an adjustment, but I don't spot that happening."

George underwent an arthroscopic process connected his near genu successful July aft suffering an wounded during a workout and was expected to beryllium reevaluated successful September. He played successful conscionable 41 games past play aft signing a four-year, $212 cardinal maximum declaration with Philadelphia successful the summertime of 2024. The nine-time NBA All-Star dealt with a fig of ailments past season, earlier receiving injections successful his near adductor musculus and near genu and shutting down his play successful March.

"I'm getting amended and better. Feeling stronger and stronger," George said. "This adjacent mates of weeks is precise important, starring into the commencement of the season, opening night, each of that stuff. All I tin bash is conscionable absorption connected doing that, time aft day, taking it 1 time astatine a time. I bash deliberation I volition beryllium astatine a bully place, hopefully, earlier than later."

He said helium tin bash "pretty overmuch everything but afloat contact." George won't beryllium afloat acceptable for the commencement of grooming camp, but the swelling successful his genu is going down.

"I don't deliberation there's a timeline," helium said, "just however the assemblage is doing arsenic we're ramping up the work."

The 6-foot-8 guardant averaged conscionable 16.2 points past season, his fewest since his six-game 2014-15 campaign. George has played much than 56 games successful a play conscionable erstwhile since 2018-19.

"It can't get worse than past year," helium said. "That was a stone bottommost benignant of season."