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Joel Embiid's historic season, and the injuries and controversies that threaten to overshadow it

February 1, 2024

Jan 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) glances at Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during a break in action in the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets was supposed to be many things: a showdown between two title contenders, a rematch of MVP staples Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, and a night for incredible basketball to be consumed by a national television audience.

Instead it became an evening of NBA hot take theater, providing a chance both for frustrated 76ers fans to call into question Embiid's durability, and national fans (and some pundits!) to double down on their claims that Embiid is scared to play Jokic and the Nuggets in Denver, which some claim supposedly calls into question not only his mental fortitude, but also his character.

That all culminated in ...

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