Only Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid could turn a sick day into a full-blown news cycle, and on April Fools’ Day of all days, the timing could not have been more perfectly chaotic.
The confusion started when Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin reported that Embiid had been officially listed as out due to illness ahead of Philadelphia’s April 1 matchup against Washington.
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“I guess they won’t let me play basketball!!” Embiid posted on social media Wednesday morning, pushing back hard on reports that he had been ruled out for the 76ers’ game against the Washington Wizards due to illness.
I guess they won’t let me play basketball!!
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) April 1, 2026
What made the timing suspicious, at least to Embiid, was the date itself. The big man responded directly to the report, questioning whether the whole thing was an April Fools’ joke.
However, Carlin followed up by noting that the 76ers’ official injury report still listed Embiid as out, leaving the basketball world genuinely confused about whether he was actually available.
The situation was eventually clarified by 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who confirmed to the Philadelphia Inquirer that Embiid had been ruled out after he was too ill to attend Wednesday morning’s film session.
Morey told me that the Sixers ruled Embiid out when he was too ill to make this morning’s film session. He will be checked out by a doctor. https://t.co/biRlZz1P4k
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) April 1, 2026
According to Morey, the team did not list Embiid on Tuesday night’s injury report because his health had been trending in a positive direction, and they did not expect his availability to be impacted.
This is not a new situation for Embiid. He already played through the illness Monday night in the Sixers’ 119-109 loss to the Miami Heat, putting up 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in 34 minutes despite visibly struggling. He even acknowledged after that game that he was not fully in it physically.
This absence marks Embiid’s first missed game since March 23. His season has been defined by availability problems, as he has only appeared in 36 games so far in 2025-26, a stretch that included time lost to a stress reaction in his right shin, a right knee issue, and an oblique strain that kept him out for a month before his return on March 25. He is averaging 26.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in those 36 appearances.
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The stakes are real for Philadelphia right now. The Sixers entered Wednesday sitting at 41-34, seventh in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining in the regular season. They are one game back of the sixth-place Toronto Raptors and one game ahead of the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning every contest from here on out carries playoff seeding implications.
Against a Wizards team that has won just one of its last 20 games and is sitting 17-58 on the season, the Sixers are heavy favorites with or without their star center. But losing Embiid for any games down the stretch is far from ideal with the postseason around the corner.
As for Embiid, the good news is that an illness is not a structural concern. If he recovers in the next couple of days, he should be available for Philadelphia’s remaining games. But given how tight the Eastern Conference race is, every missed game costs the Sixers something they might need later.
