Joel Embiid’s timeline to return to the Philadelphia 76ers is still unclear following knee surgery. His availability this summer for the US Olympic team is just as murky.
US coach Steve Kerr texted this week with Embiid, mostly to wish the NBA Most Valuable Player well in his recovery from Tuesday’s procedure to address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Kerr even hoped to meet up with Embiid — out for at least four weeks, likely much longer — before the Warriors played the 76ers on Wednesday.
Kerr said he just wanted to say hello.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA Today
The Warriors coach might not get a chance to see much more of Embiid beyond this week, with knee surgery, rehabilitation — even the 76ers’ wishes — all playing a role in determining his shot at Olympic gold.
“There’s not a whole lot we can do about it,” Kerr said ahead of Wednesday’s game. “We’re hoping that he’s healthy and ready to go. If not, we’ll have to replace him.”
The NBA’s two-time scoring champion, Embiid told USA Basketball in October last year that, after more than a year of deliberating, he had picked the US over France as his team for the Paris Olympics.
USA Basketball does not plan to name its team until the spring, but if healthy, Embiid seemed to have a lock on one of the 12 spots on the squad that is to be coached by Kerr with assistants Erik Spoelstra of Miami, Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers and Mark Few of Gonzaga.
“Our fingers are crossed he’ll be healthy this summer and able to play,” Kerr said. “He’s an amazing player and we’re really excited to have him be part of the program.”
Embiid became a US citizen last year and could have also chosen to play for France — or even Cameroon, his homeland — if they qualified for the Paris Games. Cameroon are among 24 teams playing for the final four spots in the 12-nation Olympic field next summer.
The US, France, World Cup winners Germany, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Sudan have already qualified for Paris.
“For the past few years, every decision I’ve made has been based on just family. My family, my son, and having the chance to represent a country like the US, with my son being born here,” Embiid said in October last year. “I love my home country, but I really wanted to play in the Olympics.”
The US are trying for a fifth consecutive gold medal in Paris in the summer. Embiid joins a long list of top NBA players who are hoping or planning to play for the US, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and many more.
If he plays and the US win, Durant would be the first men’s player with four basketball golds.
It could be his last.
“It looks like this summer would be a little bit of a last hurrah for some of the guys on the team,” Kerr said. “You wouldn’t expect Steph and LeBron and Kevin to all be there in 2028. You never know. It does seem like it’s a time where some of the younger guys could be transitioning into leadership roles. Having coached a young group last summer in the World Cup, I mean, the guys who jumped out to me are Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton. Those guys were fantastic and really good leaders. Jalen Brunson was great. It’s such a fun group to work with.”
Kerr was thrilled to add Embiid to the talent pool.
Only two weeks after Embiid scored a franchise-best 70 points, he is expected to miss significant time because of the knee injury believed to have been suffered in a hard fall last week at Golden State. The 76ers did not release any kind of timetable on Embiid’s return, saying only that this season’s scoring leader at 35.3 points would be evaluated in four weeks.
“We want everybody healthy, especially our star players in the league,” Kerr said. “They’re the ones who really drive the entertainment.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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