Joel Embiid says he could win the Dunk Contest, but there's a hitch: "Don't know if these knees would allow it"

jojo

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid is currently out with a knee injury, but that doesn’t mean that ‘The Process’ isn’t following the NBA while recuperating from surgery.

There was no doubt that Embiid was watching last Saturday night’s NBA Dunk Contest because he was one of those who were first to react to Mac McClung winning his second consecutive slam dunk title. Joel, however, didn’t seem too impressed.

Embiid suffers knee injury

Joel has not played since the end of January, when he tore the lateral meniscus of his left knee during the Sixers’ game against the Golden State Warriors. Earlier this month, he underwent surgery to repair the knee and will be evaluated four weeks after the procedure. That’s not the first time that Embiid has suffered a knee injury.

During the 2021 playoffs, Embiid missed Game 5 of Philadelphia’s first-round series against the Washington Wizards with a slight meniscus tear in his right knee. In 2017, Joel also missed 37 games after undergoing a season-ending surgery after tearing his left meniscus.

The big man also missed the first two years of his NBA career with a stress fracture in the navicular bone of his right foot. ‘JoJo’ suffered that foot injury while playing for the Kansas Jayhawks in college.

Embiid is not really a dunker

Joel has never joined the NBA’s Dunk Contest before, so it’s unclear if he really meant what he said. Given his injury history, it’s also likely that he will avoid joining the competition. And as the superstar said, it’s not expected that his knees will allow him to do so.

McClung captured his second straight Dunk Contest, but it wasn’t as exciting as when he first won it last season. Also, Mac’s competition in the final round, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, was booed several times by the crowd because of his mediocre dunks.

The NBA’s Dunk Contest has lost its luster in recent years due to the absence of the league’s best dunkers and biggest stars who refuse to join the competition. Last year, McClung brought it back to life, but on Saturday night, it looked like it had taken a step back again.

Perhaps Embiid was merely trolling the contest, but even if he was serious and even if his knees allow him to do it, he doesn’t seem to be the guy who will bring its excitement back, much more win it.