Joel Embiid appears to be steadily finding his rhythm again for the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Bontemps notes that the big man’s 46 minutes in Thursday’s overtime win over Houston marked his highest regular-season workload in more than three years, a notable milestone for the former MVP.
Embiid made those minutes count, finishing with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a 128-122 victory. Philadelphia dominated while he was on the floor, outscoring the Rockets by 21 points during his time in the game.
“It’s certainly a pretty big step forward, I think, for sure,” head coach Nick Nurse said afterward.
Knee issues have plagued Embiid in recent seasons, and he didn’t look entirely comfortable during the 19 games he played in 2024/25 or early this year.
However, his recent stretch has been encouraging.
Over his past 15 games, Embiid is averaging 28.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists, showing signs of returning to his usual dominance.
Teammate Paul George, who has dealt with injuries himself, said it’s been uplifting to see Embiid trending in the right direction.
“He’s starting to feel it, he’s getting better and that competitive juice and everything is starting to flow,” George said.
“You see it even with him at practice, and so you can see he was coming back, he was starting to form back into the Joel Embiid that we all have seen him dominate in this league. It’s definitely refreshing just from a personal level, dealing with injuries and how that takes a toll on you. It’s just always great to see someone start to get back to themselves.”
ICYMI: Joel Embiid continues to round back into form for the Sixers, plus more notes from Philadelphia. https://t.co/U4FYzYoKMy
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) January 24, 2026
