Apr 3, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid looks on after the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Joel Embiid's Ex-Teammate Gets Brutally Honest About Knee Injury

Originally posted on Los Angeles Clippers on SI
By Grant Mona | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 1:18 PM ET

Joel Embiid's tumultuous injury history is one of the biggest "What Ifs" in NBA history. Although the 76ers' star has won an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, received multiple All-Star selections and All-NBA honors, and earned an Olympic gold medal in 2024, there are still many accomplishments that could have been achieved throughout his career.

Injuries ruin players' primes, joy, and even their careers in many instances, and Embiid has had to endure plenty in his time in the league. Even before the NBA, he suffered a stress fracture in his back and missed the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.

Developing ESPN story on Joel Embiid and the 76ers deciding on arthroscopic surgery for his ailing left knee: https://t.co/kUM09aWirn
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 2, 2025

From that point on, it has been a lot of rehab and a lot of wasted promise for the 76ers' center. Multiple foot injuries early in his career caused him to miss almost two entire seasons, from 2014 to 2016. Additionally, numerous knee injuries, starting in his rookie year and continuing through this past season, have robbed Embiid of some of his best years.

Embiid's former teammate with the 76ers and current Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum spoke on his process behind the scenes of games and practices in a new story by ESPN's Dotun Akintoye.

"'I was sitting next to him in the locker room,' his former teammate Nicolas Batum told me. 'I saw his knee before every game, after every game.' Batum shook his head. 'I saw his knee,' he said again. 'I have no idea how he could even walk,'" Akintoye wrote.

Batum was traded to the 76ers in 2023 as part of the James Harden trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. He spent the entirety of the 2023-2024 season with Embiid in Philadelphia and grew to be beloved in the city, much like he is in Los Angeles.