LAS VEGAS – Joel Embiid is taking another step toward his return during summer league by being with his team in Las Vegas.
Embiid has been cleared for monitored, controlled five-on-five scrimmages. He will not be playing, but traveling west with the summer squad is an important part of working his way back on to the floor.
“His progression is very separate from the rest of the team,” Sixers Samsung NBA Summer League coach Lloyd Pierce said. "This allows him to still be around the coaches and players on and off the court.”
Embiid was on the court with his teammates after the summer squad wrapped practice Friday afternoon at UNLV. He worked on one-on-none moves after the team finished.
Embiid has been a mainstay at the Sixers' practice facility this offseason. He often attended pre-draft workouts and ran through his own drills afterwards.
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The players Embiid had been playing five-on-five with back in Philadelphia at the Sixers' practice facility are competing in summer league, so he will work on other aspects of his rehab during the competition.
“We know he’s healthy, he’s been in a great spot for the last couple months,” Pierce said. “He’s just trying to get basketball conditioning, get basketball skill, feel comfortable on the floor.”
Pierce plans to go to dinner with Embiid during their stay in Vegas. He hopes Embiid's teammates do the same to spend time together, a way to build team chemistry.
