Injuries again ruled the day as the Sixers formally got the ball rolling on their 2025-26 season.
“Obviously, we know that for us, the biggest thing is health,” Joel Embiid said Friday.
From Embiid’s knee to Kelly Oubre Jr.’s pinkie, here’s what we learned about the team’s health at media day in Camden, New Jersey.
Joel Embiid
Embiid had arthroscopic surgery in April on the bothersome left knee that limited him to 19 games last season.
The 2022-23 MVP is pleased with his trajectory since then, although Embiid and the Sixers are not inclined to place any exact public timelines on his next steps.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I think we made a lot of progress over the last couple of months. We’ve got a plan in place, try to check off all the boxes. … This is still kind of like a feel period where we’re just taking it day by day. Keep getting stronger, keep getting better.
“There’s been a few court sessions, so everything has been on schedule. … I think there’s not necessarily an expectation. It’s more about making sure everything is right and doing everything right, and then going from there.”
Embiid acknowledged that, as his injury-filled, unlucky history suggests, the season may not be an ultra-smooth ride.
“I think I want to be as honest as possible,” he said. “I think going forward, I’m just going to listen to the body. I’ll be honest and say it’s going to be unpredictable at times, and that’s OK. We’ve got to work with that. We’ve got to take it day by day and go from there.
“So I think the only thing I’m focused on is every single time we’re on the right path, keep going. If there’s something that happens in that time, it’s OK. Just focus on fixing it and keep going. That’s my mentality.”
Rookie Johni Broome provided a bit of insight into how Embiid’s looked in pre-training camp action.
“He’s great. He practiced the other day and I had to guard him. He scored a couple in a row,” Broome said with a smile. “That’s what you kind of expect. You play good defense and he has better offense. That’s the type of player he is, but I’m glad that I’m going against him in practice and I’m going to have him on my side during the year. He’s a great person to learn from and he’s very open to talk to you about things you need to improve on.”
Paul George
George underwent a more recent arthroscopic left knee surgery than Embiid’s.
He said he’s “getting better and better, feeling stronger and feeling” following that July procedure. However, the 35-year-old forward does not expect to participate in the Sixers’ weekend training camp practices. George noted he’s able to do “pretty much everything besides full contact.”
“I’m in the weight room, I’m lifting, I’m working out every day,” he said. “I’m on the court. Not ready to start the full ramp-up of conditioning on court with running and stuff like that, but I’m on the court, I’m working out. I’m doing stationary drills … one-to-two dribble moves. I’m still able to move and be active on the court, I’m just not ready to be a full-on contact participant right now.”
George played in just half of the Sixers’ games last year. He also tried to grind through several significant lingering injuries — knee, groin, pinkie — even when the Sixers were many games below .500. It didn’t work well for him or the team.
Will his attitude be any different moving forward about playing with nagging issues?
“I’m not a doctor, but I think just trusting my body, trusting the process going into this season,” George said. “The team is allowing me to kind of be as (close) to 100 (percent) as possible, because that’s what I signed up for. That’s what they signed me for, to come in and be the Paul George that they went out and recruited last year. So for me to do that, I do have to be healthy. That’s really it.
“Again, I’m putting the work in, I’m putting the time in, I’m seeing the progress. I’m feeling more and more like myself each day, and that’s the most important thing as the dates are winding down and we’re getting ready for the season to start. So I like where I’m at, I like how we’ve progressed things, and that’s the only way I can look at it right now.”
Jared McCain
A day after suffering a UCL tear in his right thumb, McCain was absent from media day.
“He’s still consulting with specialists. … Still gathering that feedback,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said. “We know Jared’s going to attack this just like he did the last (injury) and be back even better.”
Kelly Oubre Jr.
Oubre went into detail Friday about addressing the long-term finger injuries that he’s previously indicated have posed challenges with his jumper.
“I have had surgery on my left pinkie and my thumb as well,” he said. “Different years, different surgeries. I got hurt for the first time around (the start of) COVID and the rehab process was kind of non-existent because the world shut down. So I built up a lot of scar tissue in those areas. And then in my thumb, I have a brace.
“I did attack that really hard this summer. I was able to see my old therapist. Her name’s Mo; shoutout Mo, she’s amazing. Get some more range of motion in my wrist, in my hand, in my fingers. Get my fingers straighter. … I’ve just got to put the ball in the hole and then you guys can talk about it when I do.”
Oubre had an offseason follow-up consultation.
“I actually saw the doctor who did it this summer, just to go over everything, let him know how I’m healing,” he said. “We thought about taking the brace out of my thumb. But I’m going to take that out, gain some range (of motion) but lose something on the back end somewhere else. It’s not really worth it. And over these years, I’ve been able to compensate and my body does a good job of adapting to less flexion and range of motion.
“I’ve been just figuring it out, honestly. But with this range, I have to re-write the patterns in my brain of shooting like I used to before all of these things. I’m just a hooper, man. I’m just looking forward to going out there and making it work. The triumph will be better than the adversity for sure.”
Andre Drummond
Drummond had a straightforward report on the left big toe injury that hindered him for much of last year.
“It was a good summer for me,” the veteran big man said. “I did all the necessary things to build the strength back in my foot and I’m 100 percent to go. I’ve looked great during (offseason workouts) and I’m ready.”
Drummond ventured into new territory with his rehab.
“Honestly, I didn’t know there was such a thing as toe yoga,” he said. “I’ve been doing a lot of toe yoga this summer to be able to really get that strength back in my big toe, being able to move it freely without having to tape it. … If you don’t know what it is, look it up. It’s definitely not a fun experience, but it worked out for me.”
Eric Gordon
The 36-year-old Gordon is back for a second season in Philadelphia. His first ended with right wrist surgery.
“I would say a couple of months after the surgery, I was really able to shoot,” Gordon said. “So I’ve been able to shoot all summer. Anytime you have a surgery, you’re always going to have ups and downs, but so far everything’s been good. I’m looking forward to practice tomorrow with really no limitations.”
Kyle Lowry
Lowry, 39, spoke with great enthusiasm Friday about mentoring Sixers youngsters like VJ Edgecombe and McCain, who he said have a “pureness” in their approach to the sport.
As far as on the floor, Lowry’s last season was frequently disrupted by a right hip problem. That’s improved over the summer.
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel really good. I think just being able to be on the court to help these guys the best that I can. But I know my role this year. So if I’m needed, I’ll be there, but my role is to help these guys. I would love to play 25, 30 minutes (per game), but that’s not my role, that’s not my job.”
