Fans brand NBA superstar Joel Embiid the ‘unluckiest player in basketball’ after he suffers gruesome injury
Joel Embiid has been labeled by fans as the ‘unluckiest player in basketball’ after suffering another injury during the Philadelphia 76ers’ latest loss.
Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, was hit in the face late in the first half while trying to get a defensive rebound against the Indiana Pacers, and the team later revealed he had suffered a sinus fracture and would not return to the game.
On social media, fans shared their frustrations over yet another injury to one of the league’s best players, with one writing: “Embiid’s body is breaking down. Another sad story about one of the most talented players the game has ever seen… I can’t catch a break.”
Another said: ‘Embiid is the unluckiest player in basketball.’
The incident occurred when the Cameroonian center was battling Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin and hit an errant forearm and elbow to the bridge of his nose. As the game continued, he immediately fell to the ground.
Shortly afterward, he left the Wells Fargo Center for evaluation, and the team quickly announced that he would undergo further testing this weekend.
Joel Embiid takes a forearm and elbow to the face late in the first half of the 76ers game
Embiid was left writhing in pain on the court and it was later revealed that he had ruptured his sinus
Embiid played only his sixth game of the 23 Philadelphia has played so far this season. He suffers from swelling in his left knee and is also serving a three-match suspension due to a physical incident with a reporter.
Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George — billed as Philadelphia’s “Big Three” after George arrived in the offseason — have only played parts of three games together. The Sixers are 7-16 this season.
Embiid has also suffered a number of facial injuries, including an orbital bone fracture after a collision with Toronto’s Pascal Siakam during the 2022 playoffs and one in 2018 after a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz.
Embiid is attended to by medical personnel before leaving the arena for further medical evaluation
Embiid can’t catch a break and is labeled the ‘unluckiest player in basketball’
Last year, Embiid developed Bell’s Palsy during a first-round playoff loss to New York.
Embiid told ESPN after Sunday’s win in Chicago that his left knee issues this season were “depressing” because the swelling was not related to an injury. That was Philadelphia’s last game before Friday.
“He’s been in a really good place all week and has been practicing all week,” coach Nick Nurse said when asked about Embiid’s state of mind. “We did a lot of things to get up to speed with him. But I can imagine that he feels like the black cloud is hanging over him a bit. He keeps running into something, really, unfortunately.’
In the game before his early departure, Embiid had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in 17 1/2 minutes, but Philadelphia ultimately lost to the Pacers 121-107.