Joel Embiid is ready for his return to action.
The Philadelphia 76ers superstar is set to make his season debut on Tuesday against the New York Knicks on the opening night of NBA Cup group play, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
Embiid's return from a training camp knee injury would've come sooner, however, the 76ers centre was dealt a three-game suspension on Tuesday in response to an altercation in the 76ers locker room following the team's game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. During the incident, Embiid shoved Marcus Hayes, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, following a back-and-forth over an article that was written that made mention of the former MVP's son and late brother.
"Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, executive vice president and head of basketball operations said in a statement released by the NBA. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”
Without Embiid, the 76ers are off to a disappointing 1-5 start.
Embiid, 30, has never played more than 68 games in a season and was limited to 39 last season in large part because of knee surgery. In his 39 games last season, Embiid averaged 34.7 points and 11 rebounds per contest.
— With files from the Associated Press
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.