Joel Embiid’s comeback forces a public apology

Joel Embiid could probably get used to this. 

The Philadelphia 76ers star has landed an apology from a former big man, who spews takes on television. It isn’t Shaquille O’Neal or Charles Barkley, but Kendrick Perkins felt he had to walk back some earlier claims.

“I’d like to issue an apology,” Perkins said on ESPN on Friday. “Seriously, to Daryl Morey and to Joel Embiid, because I didn’t expect this.”

Perkins’ comments come after Embiid clocked a 35-minute shift at home against the Sacramento Kings. He scored 37 points on 61 percent shooting, while passing out eight assists, and coming down with five rebounds.

“If you would’ve asked me this two months ago, I would’ve thought Joel Embiid was on the verge of retiring, seriously,” Perkins added. 

“All of the sudden he has come back to looking like an All-NBA-caliber player. We know that he’s going to get buckets, as far as what he does on the perimeter, because he’s one of the most skilled bigs to ever play the damn game of basketball, but it’s the lift. He’s dunking the ball now, he’s catching an alley. We saw him playing above the rim, and we saw him playing with force.” 

Two knee surgeries in less than two years must have had Embiid contemplating his future. Nobody knew what to truly expect during his age 31 season after he played in just 19 games last year.

It wasn’t that pretty in the beginning. Embiid averaged 25 minutes per game in six out of the first nine games of the year before going on a multi-week absence due to knee swelling. It was hard not think of the worst. He eased his way back into the game in early December. By the new year, Embiid has managed to average over 30 minutes of playing, and is looking like an All-Star version of himself once again.

With just three absences in January, Embiid has found consistency, posting averages of 28.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He is shooting 54 percent from the field and knocking down 33 percent of his shots from three.

Dominating the game has never been an issue with Embiid when he’s healthy. Staying on the court consistently has always been his biggest drawback. Over the past two seasons and some change, Embiid looked like an early retirement candidate. Now, he’s landing apology letters on live TV as the knee is clearly responding well, nearly four months into the season.