Joel Embiid did his best Ben Simmons impression.
In the midst of a disastrous season, Embiid passed up a wide-open shot that could have given the Philadelphia 76ers the lead in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s 106-103 loss to the Raptors.
With the Sixers trailing, 105-103, and roughly 10 seconds remaining, Embiid was passed the ball by guard Tyrese Maxey at the top of the key with his feet set, surely prepared to shoot a wide-open 3-pointer, but he instead put the ball back on the floor and dribbled into a flood of Toronto defenders.
Embiid looked at the basket without a defender even in the picture before putting the ball on the floor, mishandling the ball as he dribbled between his legs near the free-throw line, and Raptor guard Grady Dick took it away.
Dick would go to the free-throw line and make one of two, while Maxey missed a 26-foot game-tying 3-point attempt with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Embiid has been a sight for sore eyes in Philadelphia, as he’s played in just 17 of 53 games for a team that came into this season with championship aspirations.
Philadelphia (20-33) is currently the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference while dealing with mass injuries throughout the roster.
Embiid, who as of Jan. 29 had missed 47 percent of his career games (446 played vs. 400 missed), played in the Olympics for Team USA despite many speculating he was a health risk after playing in just 39 games the year prior.
He followed up an uneven 2023-24 season by not appearing in a game until Nov. 12, when the 76ers had started 2-8.
If Embiid, 30, plays every game for the rest of the regular season, he would have played in just 44 games this season.
He has never reached the 70-game plateau in his career.
Embiid, like his former running mate Simmons, was a part of the “Trust the Process” era in Philadelphia, where the 76ers front office tanked consecutive seasons while their two stars sat for much of the regular season.
That lack of playing time would be a sign of things to come, as Simmons has gone from superstar to afterthought after being traded from the 76ers to the Nets, eventually being cut from the team and signing with the Clippers on the buyout market.
Embiid and the 76ers are set to play the Nets in the second game of a back-to-back Wednesday, and although he is not listed on the injury report, he had previously said he would not play in two straight games for the rest of his career.
“If I had to guess, I would probably never play in back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Embiid said prior to the start of this season, according to ESPN.
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