The Philadelphia 76ers entered last season full of hope with the acquisition of Paul George, to pair alongside all-world center Joel Embiid and emerging star Tyrese Maxey. But the injury bug hit the Sixers—and it hit the franchise real hard.
Embiid and George missed a combined 104 games last season, with the former missing 63 and the latter sitting out 41. Maxey missed 28 games himself just as he was having a career-best year playing out of the shadows of Embiid and George. Even Jared McCain, who was playing at an All-Rookie level, missed the Sixers’ final 59 games after suffering a meniscus tear in December 2024.
The Sixers, unsurprisingly, won just 24 of 82 regular season games and missed even the play-in by six games as the George-Maxey-Embiid trio played just 15 games together. Now, it appears that the franchise’s injury curse isn’t over just yet as Embiid’s and George’s return remain up in the air, while McCain has suffered another injury.
Joel Embiid, Paul George Still Working Towards Sixers Return
With months of rehab already behind them, it would be fair to expect that Joel Embiid and Paul George are now ready for a return to action. But that’s unfortunately not the case, with both players making it clear during the Sixers’ media day that they still have no timetable as to their return.
“There’s not necessarily an expectation; it’s more about making sure everything is right and doing everything right and then go from there,” said Embiid. “Obviously the goal is to play consistently and not be the position that we were last year.”
George is in the same boat—and maybe even worse as he said he hasn’t progressed to full-contact practices yet.
“I’m getting better and better. Feeling stronger and stronger. This next couple of weeks is very important, leading into the start of the season, opening night, all of that stuff. All I can do is just focus on doing that, day after day, taking it one day at a time. I do think I will be at a good place, hopefully, earlier than later,” George offered.
With just about a month left before the 2025–26 NBA Season tips off, it’s looking like the Sixers’ two superstars might still be on the mend.
Jared McCain Injures Thumb
With the uncertainty surrounding the return of Paul George and Joel Embiid still lingering over the Sixers, the franchise has now met another setback: Guard Jared McCain tore a UCL in his right thumb just the other day during an offseason workout.
McCain was putting up 15.3 points per game through 23 games last season when he injured his meniscus in December. Now, this thumb injury might put him on the shelf for at least the first few weeks of the 2025–26 NBA Season. He also had a dazzling six-game stretch where he averaged 25.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.3 rebounds as he stepped up for the injury-stricken Sixers early last year.
In other words, the new season hasn’t started, and yet it appears the Sixers are dealing with the same bad luck from last season in terms of the injury bug.
Needless to say, another long, difficult season might be in the offing for the 76ers.
