Joel Embiid's Injury Status Updated by Rich Paul After LeBron James Commits to 76ers

LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul, provided an encouraging update regarding Joel Embiid's health after his client signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency on Friday.

"From my understanding, Embiid is doing a hell of a job this summer," Paul said on the latest episode of the Game Over podcast (29:50 mark). "It's the first summer he's actually been healthy. Not having some type of surgery over the summer, which is always good."

Embiid dealt with availability issues once again during his 2025-26 campaign, as he only appeared in 38 regular-season games due to knee and oblique injuries. He also underwent an appendectomy before the start of the playoffs.

Still, Embiid was optimistic about his health moving forward after Philadelphia's season came to an end.

"I'm as confident as I've ever been," Embiid told reporters on May 10. "I think, obviously, [my knee] was the biggest concern, and I'm not thinking about it; and as long as we keep doing what we've been doing, I won't have to think about it anymore.

"I'm looking at next year, obviously being more available. The personal goals, it doesn't matter. I know that if I'm available and I play as much as possible, everything else is going to follow."

It's worth noting that the seven-time All-Star remained productive offensively last season, averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds to go along with 3.9 assists per game. He also posted a 52.7 effective field-goal percentage.

Expectations were already high for the 76ers prior to the acquisition of James, as they previously acquired Jaylen Brown in a blockbuster swap with the Boston Celtics on July 1.

With James and Brown now in the mix, it isn't hard to imagine Philadelphia contending in the Eastern Conference if Embiid can stay healthy.