The fragile legacy of Joel Embiid

PHILADELPHIA — This time last week, Philadelphians were celebrating the heroics of Joel Embiid and riding the high of an historic victory over the Boston Celtics. Thanks largely to the 32-year-old center, the 76ers made history by coming back from a 3-1 series hole to defeat Boston on its home court in Game 7.

A week later, Philadelphians are sifting through the ashes of being swept out of the playoffs by the hated New York Knicks. Now critics are back to evaluating where Embiid fits in the hierarchy of NBA stars and in the legion of Philadelphia icons.

On Sunday, Embiid followed a pattern that has haunted him and frustrated Philadelphians for the past 11 seasons: He appears to walk on water one moment and nearly drown the next. He scored 24 points in a losing effort as Philadelphia saw yet another second-round playoff exit.

In the first round, the Sixers defeated Boston in a playoff series for the first time since 1982, and it was only the second time in history that the franchise won a deciding Game 7. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Embiid’s return to the lineup from injury was largely the reason for Philadelphia’s comeback.

“They’re a completely different team [with Embiid],” Mazzulla said. “That’s what changed in the series.”

The victory over Boston, however, was shellacked by history. After being swept by the Knicks and beaten by 30 points at home on Mother’s Day, Embiid’s enduring and fragile legacy remains unclear.

“What’s Embiid’s legacy going to be in Philly?” said Philadelphia native and jazz bassist Christian McBride, who performed the national anthem before Sunday’s game.

“He’s going to be one of those [who] almost was.”

McBride, 53, is a native Philadelphian with 11 Emmys to his name. He is one of the greatest in a long line of legendary jazz musicians Philadelphia has produced. He is also an avid sports fan and a student of the city’s sports culture.

“I think of all the great centers that played in this city, from Wilt Chamberlain to Moses [Malone] and, you know, even [Dikembe] Mutombo, when we got to the Finals in 2001,” he said.

Embiid’s fragility separates him from that group and will eventually force the 76ers to begin a new process to replace him.

“The Sixers will soon go through another rebuild, sooner than later, because I don’t think Embiid is going to make it much longer,” McBride said. “His body is clearly weak. He can’t play a full season anymore. He should probably just save his body and retire, and then the Sixers will have to find another 5 [center].”

McBride did predict that time would be kind to Embiid.

“After time goes on, he will ultimately be beloved — not like Wilt or Moses, but he will be regarded as one of the great Sixers.”

Injuries will be perhaps the defining part of Embiid’s legacy. You can make the argument he has had one of the most injury-interrupted careers of any modern NBA superstar; his health has shaped his career arc and identity.

He entered the NBA with a “fragile” label stamped on his forehead.

A stress fracture in his foot before his rookie season forced him to miss his first two NBA seasons. His knees, especially his left one, have been a persistent issue. After Sunday’s game, he said he considered this season a victory because the knee did not bother him. He had a torn meniscus in 2025 and then had multiple playoff knee sprains.

In 2018, he had an orbital fracture, and in 2022 he fractured his orbital bone again and sustained a concussion after taking an elbow. During the 2024 playoffs, he played through Bell’s palsy, which affected his vision, to score 50 points in Game 3 of a first-round series against the Knicks.

Embiid is only 32, but the wear and tear his body has absorbed makes him akin to a 45-year-old in NBA years.

I have no doubt that whenever he retires, Embiid will likely be a first-ballot Basketball Hall of Famer. For one, his playing credentials are impressive. Even without ever having led Philadelphia to an NBA championship, he has a Hall of Fame resume: an NBA MVP award, two scoring titles and perennial All-NBA honors. When healthy, Embiid is too big for smaller defenders and too skilled for traditional centers.

Beyond that, Embiid embodies the NBA’s quest to establish the league as a global presence. His journey from Yaoundé, Cameroon, to the United States and the NBA, coupled with his on-court accomplishments, is Hall of Fame worthy.

The larger question is: What will his legacy be in Philadelphia? Will he be ranked among the favorite sons and daughters like Chamberlain, Dawn Staley, Allen Iverson, Joe Frazier and Mike Schmidt?

“I feel bad saying this, but I don’t think he’s going to get that high,” McBride said. “He’s not going to get to Dawn Staley, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain. But in terms of specifically the Sixers, he’ll probably be in the top 10.”

When you talk about legacy with Embiid, you have to ask what he sees when he looks in the mirror and what he sees when he looks at his bank account. In 2024, he signed a three-year, $192 million maximum extension. He has career earnings of more than $300 million. When Embiid looks at that, his legacy must seem clear: He’s won.

When he looks in the mirror and takes a deep dive into his professional career, however, things may become a bit more complicated. He will never be regarded like Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal or Hakeem Olajuwon. In his own era, Embiid will be rated just behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic, and with the rise of San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Embiid is hurtling toward past tense.

Yet when I asked Embiid about his legacy after Sunday’s game, he said that his professional basketball accomplishments — past, present and future — are a small part of it.

“I don’t care,” he said. “I got my family. I got my kids. Hopefully I get more. I got my mom, my dad. I could care less about what people think about me when it comes to basketball. I think I’ve done a lot of stuff off the court. So hopefully that’s the part that’s remembered, whether it’s here in Philadelphia, all over the U.S., in Africa. That’s been my goal.

“Basketball is just a platform. I’ll be sad if I don’t win, but I don’t think that’s going to define me.”

In the field of sport and play, results define a legacy. As another 76ers season ended with unfulfilled potential, Embiid’s injury-riddled legacy with Philadelphia seems set.

He is one of the greatest NBA big men who almost was.

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