When it was announced in July that Joel Embiid would need a second surgery on his right foot and would miss another season, doubt began to creep in.
Will he ever play in the NBA?
Sixers head coach Brett Brown joined Philly Sports Talk on Thursday and expressed his confidence in his center’s recovery.
“I still hold tremendous hope and belief that through a regimented diet and a very disciplined sports science application, we can study him, coach him and help get him back on the court,” Brown said. “I truly look at it in a positive view.”
Brown compared Embiid’s situation to longtime Cavaliers center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who missed time early in his career with the same foot ailment.
“His first seven years, five of them he wasn’t playing,” Brown said. “Some were in Europe, some were in the NBA. Then he found a way to string together nine consecutive years at an All-Star-type of stature.”
For more on Brown’s thoughts about Embiid, watch the video above.