Philadelphia 76ers superstar big man Joel Embiid is set to have surgery during the offseason after an MRI confirmed a thumb ligament tear for the MVP candidate, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Embiid suffered the injury during the first half of the Sixers Game 3 victory over the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday. Despite the injury, Embiid still dropped 28 points during the second half and overtime, and also hit the game-wining three-pointer.
“[The MRI] just confirmed what we thought,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “But nothing changes.
“Treatment is the same. There literally will be no change. It’s just, we knew we thought what it was and it was, so you just keep moving on.”
“I would say it was more, you know, when it comes to rebounding, at the free throw, and also passing,” Embiid said after Game 4 of how his injury impacted his play. “I don’t know how to explain, but it’s whatever. But the bigger story is that we lost the game, we weren’t able to close it out. And we got to do a better job.”
“It’s whatever,” Embiid said. “I’m Catholic. God … I always put it in his hands. So that’s why when I go out there I don’t focus on, you know, what can happen or what’s going to happen?
“I just go out there hoping for the best and trusting, trusting [my teammates]. So this series hasn’t been … I mean, nobody knows [this], but I was really sick for the first two games. But you know, I fought through it.
“It’s the playoffs. Nothing is going to stop me. So I’ve just got to keep going and hope for the best.”
