Philadelphia 76ers fans consistently are reminded to “trust the process,” but the mantra has yet to show dividends.
There was a glimmer of hope this season, however, when Joel Embiid made his highly-anticipated regular-season debut. The 76ers center was off to a stellar rookie campaign, but it was eventually cut short due to a knee injury sustained in February.
Now, it appears the injury is severe enough to require surgery, as ESPN’s Marc Stein reported Wednesday.
Waiting on Embiid to return from injury is nothing new for 76ers fans. After being drafted No. 3 overall by Philadelphia in 2014, Embiid sat out the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons due to an ongoing foot injury.
It was a deja vu all over again this season for the 76ers with their latest top draft pick. No. 1 overall selection Ben Simmons’ foot injury sustained in training camp will keep him out for the entire 2016-17 campaign.
The bright side for Philadelphia is it is positioned for yet another top-five pick in this summer’s draft. Eventually all of these high draft picks will have to pan out, right?
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
