Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery on Thursday afternoon in Houston, the Sixers said.
Embiid, who first revealed he was dealing with an injury after a March 30 loss to the Miami Heat, was suddenly ruled out for Thursday night’s game against the Rockets at 12:15 p.m. in Houston with an illness designation.
Embiid had not been listed on any of the team’s prior injury reports for the game.
Two hours and change later, the Sixers announced the appendicitis diagnosis, which could very well end Embiid’s season. Only three games remain in the regular season, which ends on Sunday. The Sixers could be playing a postseason game as soon as Tuesday depending on where they land in the Eastern Conference standings.
A few recent examples of appendicitis diagnoses in the NBA suggest this will be, at the very least, a multi-week absence for Embiid:
Some semi-recent NBA appendectomies and the eventual return timelines:
Channing Frye, 2017: Surgery on Feb. 17, returned on March 26
OG Anunoby, 2019: Surgery on April 11, returned on June 2 (but did not play)
Nikola Mirotić, 2016: Surgery on Jan. 27, returned on March 5
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) April 9, 2026
If this is indeed the end of Embiid’s 2025-26 season, he will have played 38 out of 82 games, averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists.Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
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