Embiid played 29 minutes in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 109-105 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though he was far from his usual self, his movement was encouraging and his performance (24 points on 6-14 field-goal shooting, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals) was good enough to get the win, improving Philly’s record in games he plays to 27-8.

The immeasurable relief Embiid felt after finally making it back was made even sweeter with the win. This was far from a typical Embiid comeback, primarily because the injury impacted him more severely.

“Usually when I have injuries, I just tell myself, ‘Move onto the next one, get better and then fix it.’ But this one, it took a toll mentally, being depressed and it was not a good one. Still not where I’m supposed to be, especially mentally, but I just love to play and love basketball and I want to play. Any chance that I can be out there, I’m gonna take it.”

Despite all the experience Embiid has had with injuries — including ones that derailed entire seasons — what he dealt with the last 63 days was a different beast. The collision with Jonathan Kuminga that left him writhing in pain on the ground, the MRI that revealed the injury in his meniscus, the procedure that followed and the months of work that followed that gave Embiid the second-longest in-season absence of his career.

Even when he missed the last 37 games of his rookie season, which was also the result of a left meniscus injury, the return process was more gradual. The 76ers shut Embiid down for the remainder of that season in March, affording him the rest of the offseason to recover. This time around, Embiid had a shot of making a return during the season. After eight grueling weeks, he achieved his mission.

“For some reason, this injury was just…it was disappointing. It was depressing. I mean, it took me a while to get over it — and I still haven’t gotten over it,” Embiid said. “So, just gotta take it day by day, look at the positive: I’m back. So hopefully every single day, try to get better and get back to myself.”

Embiid’s two-fold method for dealing with the strong emotions his injury cast on him was to spend time with his family and then allow himself to watch the games later, striking a balance of focus in his recovery and some necessary freedom from it.

During the day, Embiid said, he would drive his son to school and pick him up. Time with his son and his wife gave him an outlet away from the game, a blissful escape that kept his spirits at ease. “That kind of takes your mind away from everything that’s going on,” he said.

But he didn’t completely tune out his team. He said that he would watch the 76ers play at night and felt a strong passion to get back out there. “You get pissed off because you feel like you could help and you could do something,” Embiid said. Philly posted a record of 11-18 during his prolonged absence. 

Nick Nurse on Joel Embiid getting back into game shape:

“Normally I would say a couple weeks, week and a half. But it wouldn’t surprise me here in about 1 more game or 2 that he’s ready to roll.”

Nurse said Embiid has worked hard to keep up with his conditioning pic.twitter.com/DH0kmlk8xf

— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) April 3, 2024

Being out of the woods from this injury gives Embiid the chance to build on what was his best season to date. With career highs across the board, the big man has once again shown that he has more potential to reach. The playoffs (and almost certainly the play-in) await and he now has a multi-game runway to get his basketball legs back under him. That’s something that Nick Nurse estimates could happen much quicker given how hard Embiid has worked on his conditioning.

Kelly Oubre Jr. compared Joel Embiid’s return to seeing school friend again after winter break, saying the big man is “the cool guy in the class that we’ve definitely been missing.”

Joel Embiid eager to help 76ers win games

“I wanna win but at the same time, I just want to play,” Embiid said. “Wherever that takes us, I’m fine with it. The goal is to win. We got a lot of good players on the team so we just gotta find a way to get on the same page.”

Embiid will have to learn how to play alongside Kyle Lowry, Buddy Hield and Cam Payne, whom the 76ers added during Embiid’s recovery process. In the big man’s eyes, it’s simply a matter of playing more together and continuing to talk with one another.

With Lowry, he already showed some initial comfort together in the pick-and-roll. His chemistry with Hield may take a little longer, though a sharpshooter and a dominant big man who can force defenses to shrink the floor is the hardwood version of peanut butter and jelly. Embiid and Hield linked up twice for buckets out of dribble handoffs.

Embiid said that it’ll take some time for him to get back to his best self. It was evident by the times he forced shots that he still has some progress to make. Still, there were plenty of positives from his game. He made all 12 of his free throws and tallied seven assists (though also six turnovers) despite a clear need to get back up to the speed of the game and gain more familiarity with his new teammates. Getting Tyrese Maxey back will make things much easier, too, as the All-Star guard was sidelined with hip tightness.

On defense, Embiid dominated, specifically down the stretch. He altered several shots from the Thunder, denying them chances at hanging onto their lead. The cherry on top was a pick-pocket of Josh Giddey, which he took off with the other way and earned another trip to the free-throw line.

“I think my biggest impact is just being out there — and defensively,” he said. “That’s why I was happy I got the last stop of the game ’cause I think I’m the best defender in the league. Just wanna be out there, provide space for everybody, attract attention and get guys wide open.”

The Wells Fargo Center crowd roared for Embiid in pregame introductions and with each great play he made. Having such an enthusiastic and supportive fanbase made his desire to return even stronger.

“That’s one reason why I always play even when I’m not at my best,” Embiid said. “because I’ve been in this city for a long time and the love and the passion. I’ve always been passionate but when you have fans like that behind you that are also passionate, it just makes you want to play through anything because that’s Philly. You gotta be tough — and I think I’m pretty tough.”

With the “long road” the 76ers still have ahead of them, Embiid said, the support from fans will be even more meaningful. The journey staring Philly in the face is daunting. But for Embiid, the worst is behind him. He is, at long last, back.