The Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid may miss the entire 2015-16 season. The NBA center needs another surgery on his injured foot, and the team is preparing for the fact that the surgery may sideline Embiid the entire year. “I would say there is a great possibility that Embiid won’t play next year. Just think how long they sat him when they thought he was healthy,” a source told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Embiid was the Number 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and he sat out his entire rookie season due to his foot injury. Back in June, the 76ers president Sam Hinkie stated that Embiid’s foot was not healing that well, and the team was strongly considering surgery for the center. Embiid
played one season at the University of Kansas (2013-14), where he averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. The center missed the last week of Big 12 tournament, and he didn’t play a single game during Kansas’ run in the NCAA tournament due to a stress fracture in his back. Despite his late-season injury, Embiid was voted the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He also was chosen Second-team All-Big 12.
With Embiid’s future in doubt, the team selected Jahlil Okafor with the Number 3 pick in this year’s draft. Okafor, a 6’11 center, played one year at Duke Universtity- for which he won a NCAA championship. The 19-year old also was voted a first-team All American, and he was honored as the ACC Player of the Year.
The 76ers had an unimpressive record of 18-64 last season, but the team’s current roster of Carl Landry, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor gives the city of Philadelphia a lot of hope. The teams’ summer league play has been solid, and Noel had positive things to say about newcomer Okafor. “I think he has been great. He’s getting better and better- more comfortable and comfortable. We’ll be able to do a lot of great things on the court as we get more acquainted with each other,” Noel told the Associated Press. In his summer league debut against the San Antonio Spurs, Okafor finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks.