PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will sit out Saturday night’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons, a decision listed as “right oblique; injury management; illness,” according to the club’s injury report.
The absence comes two days after the 32-year-old center publicly criticized team management for preventing him from playing in Wednesday’s 153-131 win over the Washington Wizards. Embiid, originally ruled out with an illness, responded on social media that he intended to suit up and later wrote, “I guess they won’t let me play basketball.”
Following Philadelphia’s 115-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, Embiid said he was “pissed off” at president of basketball operations Daryl Morey for the Washington decision. “I wanted to play basketball,” Embiid told reporters. “I wasn’t allowed, so that’s a question for Daryl or whoever makes the decisions.”
Embiid had scored 26 points in 34 minutes during Monday’s loss in Miami but told reporters afterward he was feeling ill. He said he slept poorly before Wednesday’s game and skipped a morning film session; he learned he was inactive when he saw the lineup online. Despite being listed as doubtful for the Minnesota game, he played 34 minutes and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Head coach Nick Nurse downplayed the situation Saturday, saying, “We handle it by keeping things basketball-related. He was excellent yesterday, a great teammate and totally focused.”
Embiid has appeared in 37 games this season, averaging 26.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He missed 13 games after straining his right oblique on Feb. 26 in Miami and has yet to play both ends of a back-to-back in 2025-26.
Source: ESPN
