The Athletic has live coverage of 76ers vs. Knicks in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.
NEW YORK — Joel Embiid will miss Game 2 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-round NBA playoff series against the New York Knicks. The team has ruled Embiid out for Wednesday’s bout because of hip and ankle injuries.
When the Sixers convened for Wednesday morning’s shootaround, Embiid was too hurt to participate. Shortly after, Philadelphia’s medical team determined he could not play in the game. The 76ers have not announced any timetable for his return.
Embiid missed the first three games of the 76ers’ first-round series against the Boston Celtics after undergoing an emergency appendectomy at the end of the regular season. He has played five games since returning, but ailments caught up to the oft-injured former MVP again.
The Knicks waxed the 76ers in Game 1 of their series 137-98, a blowout in which Embiid struggled. He posted just 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting. New York attacked him on defense, where his body did not allow him to move well.
Midway into the third quarter, Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse substituted Embiid out of the game. Given the score, he never re-emerged.
Backup center Adem Bona entered the starting lineup for all three games Embiid missed against the Celtics. However, Andre Drummond, Embiid’s regular backup, received more minutes than Bona in each of those games. Size and rebounding chops are especially important against the Knicks, one of the league’s most physical teams on the glass.
Drummond is a burly, 6-foot-11 glass glutton. His matchup against the Knicks’ 7-footers, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, now becomes one of the most important in Game 2.
Embiid’s injury is the latest setback for the 76ers star in a career defined by them.
Since entering the NBA in 2014, Embiid has played in just 51 percent of his team’s regular-season games and has missed at least one playoff game in six of his eight appearances in the postseason. He has also played through injuries in the spring or rushed back from them before fully healing.
In 2024, Embiid was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy but played in every game of the 76ers’ first-round series loss to the Knicks.
He had played in only 38 games this season, averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
