Reigning MVP Embiid will miss Friday's matchup vs. Kings
Reigning MVP Embiid will miss Friday's matchup vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Philadelphia 76ers will be without Joel Embiid when they face the Kings on Friday.
The reigning MVP -- who is averaging 34.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists this season -- will miss his third consecutive game with a knee injury, the team announced Thursday.
Sixers center Joel Embiid will remain sidelined with left knee inflammation. Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings will mark his third straight one he’s missed with the injury.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) January 11, 2024
Embiid has missed nine games total this season, with the Sixers going 2-7 without him.
The dynamic big man suffered the knee injury on Friday during a loss to the New York Knicks. The Sixers then dropped their next two games without Embiid, falling at home to the Jazz and on the road against the Hawks for their first three-game losing streak of the season.
The 6-foot-9 Paul Reed has started in place of Embiid in each of the last two games.
The Sixers defeated the Kings last January without Embiid, with Tyrese Maxey scoring 32 points in a 129-127 win in Sacramento for a sweep of the two-game season series.
Philadelphia enters at 23-13, which is the third-best record in the East and seventh best overall. The Kings have won the first two games of their five-game road trip.
Sacramento will look to snap a nine-game losing streak against Philadelphia, with their last win over the 76ers coming in February of 2019.
