The 76ers want Joel Embiid to lose weight, with the NBA team determined to get tough and stop ‘coddling’ their $213million superstar, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Philadelphia is leaning towards ‘shutting down’ Embiid for the rest of the season and would rather he has immediate surgery – provided he needs to go under the knife.
Embiid is currently on a four-year, $213m deal but the 30-year-old is due another $192m between 2026 and 2028.
But he was ruled out of Monday game against the Chicago Bulls after reportedly undergoing new imaging on his injured left knee.
The seven-time All-Star, who was reportedly called out by Tyrese Maxey back in November, has played in just 19 of the Sixers’ 56 games this season.
In Saturday’s 105-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Embiid fell to the floor after losing the ball late in the third quarter and was held out of the fourth quarter. His knee was swollen after the game.
The 76ers want Joel Embiid to lose weight and are considering ‘shutting him down’ for 2025
The seven-time All-Star has played in just 19 of the Sixers’ 56 games this season
The 2022-23 MVP underwent surgery for a meniscus tear in February 2024 and played in only 39 games last season.
Embiid has acknowledged that he might need extended rest for the injury to heal and DailyMail.com understands that the 30-year-old could sit out the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
‘They are paying him a boatload of money over the next few years, and they have coddled him for way too long, the team wants things to change and are going to ask him to get better, get healthy,’ a source said.
‘They also would like him to lose some weight and get in better shape, because if he weighs less, it will be better for his legs and knees.’
The source added: ‘The 76ers are now leaning to shut down Joel for the rest of the season, the record they have is terrible and they don’t have a path to the тιтle this year, so to get him healthy is a must,’ a source said.
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‘If he needs surgery, the team would like him to get it done immediately so he would be ready next year…. so, to shut it down is the decision that will be made by next week, that is what they want to do. The team doesn’t want him to get even more injured.
‘It is more of a scheduling process now that they have to deal with to see when they will shut him down, some would say, it is all paperwork up until the inevitable.’
The 76ers sit 12th in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games out of the 10th spot, which represents the last berth in the play-in tournament to try to make the playoffs.
Embiid is this season averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 ᴀssists. He is shooting 44.4 percent from the field, well below his career mark of 50.1.
DailyMail.com has contacted the 76ers for comment.
