During Joel Embiid’s rookie season, he revealed that an intern was overseeing his rehab.

ESPN reported that after having surgery on the navicular bone of his right foot, which caused him to miss the entire 2014-15 season, Embiid informed the Sixers that his foot wasn’t healing properly. Sadly, Embiid’s plea was ignored.

“His relationship with the 76ers unraveled. Embiid believed something was wrong with his injury, but the team brushed it off as laziness, several sources told me,” Embiid told Dotun Akintoye. “Frustrated, he quit showing up to rehab and training and stopped communicating with the team.”

The 76ers repeatedly fined Embiid instead of taking his claims seriously. When his fines grew to more than $300,000, the former MVP stopped keeping count of the infractions.

“It’s worth it,” Embiid said. “They’re not listening to me, and I’m not going to keep putting my body at risk.”

Things began to change when general manager Sam Hinkie began overseeing Embiid’s recovery and “raced to modernize the 76ers’ health and performance operation.”

A year after the surgery, a doctor discovered that Embiid’s foot was not healing properly, which was what he was saying the entire time.

“Embiid remembers feeling disappointed but also vindicated,” Akintoye wrote. “He was right, and his critics within the organization were wrong. Something had been wrong with his foot. He wasn’t imagining pain or making excuses. This was a difficult lesson to unlearn; it is easy to become a prisoner of one’s own victories.”

Eventually, Embiid recovered and put together a stellar career. He was named NBA MVP in 2023, is a two-time scoring champion, and a seven-time All-Star. Embiid has also been recognized with multiple All-NBA and All-Defensive team selections. 

With all his accomplishments, Embiid is still under the dark cloud of injuries. In total, he’s played in 446 NBA games throughout his career and has missed 400 games due to injuries.