Embiid, finally some good news: Maxey is confident

The Philadelphia 76ers have added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to an already talented roster, but according to Tyrese Maxey, the real key to next season could be something else: finally having Joel Embiid healthy and available to the team from the start.

The Cameroonian center has taken part regularly in Training Camp and the Preseason, something that is far from a given considering the many physical issues that have followed him throughout his career.

And for Maxey, who knows very well how much Philadelphia’s game can change with Embiid on the floor, that makes a huge difference.

It changes everything. We can put in so many more things offensively. There have been times when he wasn’t healthy and, once the game started, we found ourselves having to learn certain things on the fly

Tyrese Maxey

Embiid, a Training Camp that could make the difference

In recent years, injuries have often prevented Embiid from preparing for the season alongside his teammates. The Sixers center played just 38 games in the 2025/26 season, after appearing in 19 the year before, while dealing with issues in his right hip, left knee and appendicitis.

Those numbers show just how difficult it has been to find continuity: across his 10 NBA seasons, excluding the first two that he missed entirely because of injury, Embiid has averaged just 49 games per year.

After six seasons alongside Embiid, Maxey now knows his habits inside out: where he prefers to catch the ball, when he wants guards to cut to the basket and how to make the most of the space he creates.

For players who have never shared the floor with him, however, it inevitably takes some time.

If you’ve never played with a big like Joel, it’s not easy. There are very few guys like him, and it’s really hard to learn some of those things. But having him here lets us work on them over and over. We’ve been repeating the same situations in practice for two or three weeks, and that’s a really positive thing

Tyrese Maxey

Embiid reassures everyone about his condition

Embiid himself also showed great confidence in his physical condition at the end of last season, explaining that he finally felt more at ease after dealing with so many problems.

I think the knee was the main concern, but now I don’t even think about it. And as long as we keep doing what we’re doing, I won’t need to worry about it anymore

Joel Embiid

For once, the conversation in Philadelphia is not about when Embiid will return, but about what the team can build with him. It may seem like a small detail, but for the Sixers it is already a major change.