The 76ers are 100% done with this version of Joel Embiid

The Philadelphia 76ers enter the 2025-26 season knowing their postseason form must change, and again, much depends on Joel Embiid‘s fitness. Currently recovering from offseason knee surgery, Embiid opened the season with a strict minutes limit and currently plays about 25 minutes per game.

However, in addition to the minute limit, Embiid’s reduced mobility has also caused concern among fansincluding former teammate Lou Williams, who first pointed out the pro.

“The pros are knowing he has limited minutes, so he’s very aggressive in his limited minutes knowing he’s going to play in 4-5 minute intervals. So he gives you what Joel Embiid can give you, which is his ability to score anywhere on the floor in the half,” he said, in a video posted by ClutchPoints on X.

“I don’t know how sustainable this is going to be for the 76ers.”

Lou Williams is worried about Joel Embiid’s mobility for the Sixers season 🗣

(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/gI0gvGzvCK

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 5, 2025

However, the downsides require more analysis, as the 76ers look far from a contender with Embiid in his current state.

Lou Williams is worried about Embiid and the 76ers

“Even defensively, he can’t slide on his feet … he can’t come out and compete. It’s like something’s wrong. His knee’s not right. His knee doesn’t give him the quickness that we’re used to seeing him have. … He just doesn’t have the mobility that we’re used to seeing Joel Embiid have, before he talked about Embiid Williams,” the current state.

“Again, when we get to half court, he’s settling for jump shots because he can’t make a lot of moves. I don’t know how sustainable this is going to be for the 76ers … But I don’t know what’s going to happen if he can’t get that knee up to the level he wants to,” Williams concluded recently.

At the same time, the 76ers quietly shifted their franchise axis. Guards Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes, as well as rookie VJ Edgecomb, have emerged as a reliable backcourt core without relying solely on Embiid. Maxey, a former MVP and All-Star, scored 40-plus points early in the season and made the leap into All-Star territory.

Grimes and Edgecombe offer two-way value and floor spacing that alleviate Embiid’s reduced mobility. The 76ers’ internal logic seems to be: We can struggle or build competitively without Embiid as a pillar.

However, there is little doubt that will happen this season. Further, with plenty of concern about whether Embiid can actually produce the dominant campaigns of his past, a potential recalibration may not only be on the cards, but may be necessary.

Unless things change as the season progresses, the 76ers have to accept that he’s now a high-risk weapon with limited minutes, not a full-time anchor. If your franchise big man is no longer a defensive force and can’t log heavy minutes, the title window closes unless you make a radical adjustment.

Of course, Embiid still has elite scoring ability when healthy and active. His 20-point outing in a 20-minute span shows he can deliver bursts when used correctly.

But in today’s league, where teams run, switch and blitz the pick-and-roll, his lack of lateral mobility, limited minutes and diminished rim presence hinder the team’s ceiling. The 76ers face a stark juncture: continue to invest in a version of Embiid who can only play a few minutes here and there, or completely transition into a new identity centered around their backcourt and younger pieces.

If the knee never regains full health, this second path becomes urgent.