The Philadelphia 76ers announced on Tuesday that their superstar Joel Embiid underwent thumb surgery to address the injury that hampered him during the team’s recent playoff run. As part of the procedure, the doctors also addressed the issue Embiid had with his index finger.
According to the 76ers, Embiid is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of training camp for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Embiid suffered the thumb injury in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors. While the injury didn’t cause him to miss games, it did affect his ability to shoot the ball and grab rebounds. The 28-year-old player would go on to suffer another injury in the Raptors series, a facial fracture, which ruled him out for the beginning of the second-round matchup against the Miami Heat.
Embiid’s struggles to stay healthy and All-Star guard James Harden’s failure to take the leading role have resulted in the 76ers being eliminated in six games by the Heat. This was the fourth time in the past five postseasons that Philly ended its playoffs in the second round.
Despite the lack of team success, Joel Embiid had a career season on an individual level. He finished second in MVP voting while leading the league in scoring with 30.6 points per game. Embiid became the first center to do the latter since 2000 and Shaquille O’Neal.
