76ers’ Embiid to undergo surgery for appendicitis in Houston

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid may have played his last game of the season after the team announced on Thursday that he has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery this afternoon in Houston.

No word on how long Embiid will be out. According to WebMD, Appendicitis recovery typically takes 1-3 weeks or possibly longer, depending on the surgery used to treat it.

Based on his timetable to return, it appears the 32-year-old Embiid could miss the rest of the season, unless Philadelphia makes a long playoff run, which seems unlikely without Embiid.

This season, the 10-year veteran is averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 38 games.

Embiid signed a three-year, $193 million extension with the 76ers in 2024. He has faced injuries throughout his career, raising concerns about how the team will manage his situation next season after another injury-plagued year.

Currently, the 76ers (43-36) are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with three games to go, including Thursday night’s game against the Houston Rockets.

They are 1/2 game behind the 7th-seeded Magic and one game behind the 6th-seeded Toronto Raptors. Philly is a 1/2 game up over the 9th-seeded Hornets and two games up over the 10th-seeded Heat.

After playing the Rockets, they travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on Friday night, then return home to finish the regular season against the Bucks on Sunday.

Without Embiid, the 76ers will have a hard time avoiding the Play-In Tournament. Hopefully, they can at least get the seventh or eighth seed, which gives them two games to win one. 

Again, no matter what happens, Philly’s chances of making a deep playoff run have probably disappeared without the services of Embiid.