Joel Embiid looked slimmer in a summer workout. Now, as the Philadelphia 76ers open training camp with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown on the roster, there is a new report about just how much work their center has put into his body.
Embiid has dropped “a considerable amount of weight,” NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Monday, posting video of the former MVP shooting at the 76ers’ practice facility. Haynes did not give a number.
The change was visible before media day. NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark noted in August that Embiid appeared slimmer in photos from the team’s facility. The more consequential question for the Sixers is whether a healthy summer can help him remain available through the spring.
Embiid Enters Camp After Healthy Summer
Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey said in August that Embiid was healthy, working out and lifting weights. Gansey called him “extra motivated” by Philadelphia’s revamped roster and said the center wanted to play a lot of games.
The Sixers plan to manage that ambition carefully. Gansey said the team would consult Embiid, coach Nick Nurse and the performance staff about a playing plan. There is a reason for that caution: Embiid appeared in 38 regular-season games last season, then underwent an emergency appendectomy in April.
He returned during Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series against Boston but missed a game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against New York because of ankle and hip injuries. The Knicks swept the 76ers and went on to win the NBA title.
A lower weight cannot guarantee Embiid will avoid another setback. He reported losing 25 to 30 pounds before the 2024-25 season while emphasizing his desire to be healthy for the playoffs. For Philadelphia, the test is how he moves and holds up across the coming months, particularly when the postseason begins.
76ers’ New Stars Leave No Room for a Quiet Season
James joined Philadelphia in pursuit of another championship. Brown arrived from Boston in the trade that sent Paul George to the Celtics. Together with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, they give the 76ers more scoring and playmaking around Embiid than he had last season.
They also make the team’s goal unmistakable. “Championship or bust,” Edgecombe said after the offseason moves. Shaquille O’Neal put a similar challenge to Embiid, arguing that the Sixers now have the pieces to win.
The additions could help Embiid get there. James can direct the offense, Brown can create shots from the wing, and Maxey can carry stretches when Embiid rests. Nurse must work out how to share those responsibilities without losing what makes his center so difficult to defend.
Philadelphia has not won a championship since 1983 or reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2001. Embiid’s lighter frame is an encouraging start to a season built to change that history. What matters most is whether he can finish it on the court.
Joel Embiid Makes Major Change Ahead of 76ers’ LeBron James Era