Joel Embiid’s health concerns started before he even got in the NBA. During his pre-draft process in 2014, Embiid suffered a foot injury, which caused his draft stock to take a slight hit ahead of his big night.
Embiid quickly went from being the projected first-overall pick that could help a competitive team win right away to becoming the third-overall pick on a Philadelphia 76ers team that was clearly tanking.
Going to the Sixers helped Embiid recover without being pressured to take the floor as soon as possible and start contributing to immediate wins. But Embiid’s recovery process took a lot longer than expected as setbacks piled on.
Despite getting drafted in 2014, Embiid didn’t make his debut until the 2016-2017 season. And after he appeared in 31 games, the Sixers big man suffered another setback that ended his season prematurely.