Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was literally given up for dead at the start of the season. After a disastrous 2024-25 campaign where he could not get healthy, many wondered if Embiid’s days, not just as an elite player, but his NBA career, were numbered. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins was one of those.
But with Joel miraculously looking healthy right now, Perkins used the latest episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today” to issue a public apology to Embiid and Sixers general manager Daryl Morey for counting them out too early.
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“I like to issue an apology,” said Perkins. “Seriously, to Daryl Morey and Joel Embiid because I didn’t expect this. Like if you ask me this two months ago, I thought Joel Embiid was on the verge of retirement. And now suddenly, he’s come back to look like an All-NBA caliber player.”
Embiid has his lift back
In fairness to Perkins, he wasn’t the only analyst or talking head who openly criticized Embiid at the start of the season. Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett fired the opening salvo after the 2023 NBA MVP scored just four points on 1-9 shooting during the Sixers’ Opening Day win over the Celtics, by asking what Embiid did the entire time he was out because it looked like he didn’t do anything at all.
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Then came “The Ringer” founder Bill Simmons, who went from calling Joel a “late 2000s version of Andrew Bynum” in early November to “the greatest version of Zydrunas Ilgauskas” a couple of weeks ago.
Despite the noise around him, Embiid just continues to trust the Sixers’ medical staff and lo and behold, he’s averaging 28.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game this month, with the Sixers going 9-4 during that stretch. But Perk says Joel isn’t just putting up the numbers; he looks like he has his lift back.
“And we know that he’s going to get buckets for what he do on the perimeter because he’s one of the most skilled bigs to ever play the damn game of basketball, but it’s the lift. He’s dunking the ball now. We saw him catch an “Alley” and he’s playing above the rim, and he’s playing with force,” added Perk.
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Windhorst thinks this version of Embiid can help the Sixers win the East
Four games ago, during a 128-122 victory over the highly-touted Houston Rockets, Perk’s colleague, Brian Windhorst, raved about Joel playing a season-high 46 minutes while delivering a triple-double with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. After that Sixers win, Windy made a bold prediction by saying that the Sixers can win the East if Joel keeps it up.
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“Well, you look at this game, okay, triple double, awesome, amazing, ninth of his career. But I’m looking at 46 minutes,” Windhorst said.
“They go to overtime. They’re like ‘Joel, just keep playing,’ which means that he is feeling good. We’veseen the dunks start to come up over the last couple of weeks…And let’s just be honest, I have no idea whether it can last. I hope it can last. But if you’ve got Embiid playing like this and you’ve got [Tyrese] Maxey playing like an All-NBA player, and the supporting cast they have, the Eastern Conference is gettable for them,” he stated.
At 26-21, the Sixers sit in sixth place in the East. However, they are just 3.5 games behind the No. 2 New York Knicks and just 1.5 games off the No. 4 Toronto Raptors. With Philly having just the 20th most difficult remaining schedule, they can easily move up in the ladder. But as both Perk and Windy said, Embiid’s health will be the key.
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If somehow this miracle comeback holds, watch out for the Sixers in the playoffs.
Related: “Not ideal” – Brian Windhorst sounds the alarm on Giannis’ recurring calf injuries
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.