76ers' Joel Embiid Dislocates His Finger in Gruesome Injury During Game: 'It Looked Crazy'
Philadelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid has a high pain tolerance.
The 25-year-old center suffered a gnarly injury to his left ring finger while attempting to defend a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley at the start of the second quarter. Footage of the incident — not for the faint of heart — shows Embiid immediately grabbing his hand after going for a block. An up-close angle of his hand showed his finger bent awkwardly to the left.
Amazingly, Embiid walked over to a 76ers trainer who quickly snapped his twisted finger back into place.
The Cameroon native returned to the game and played 32 minutes. He scored 18 points while helping the 76ers end a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma City 120-113.
“It was pretty bad,” Embiid said after the game of the injury, according to Yahoo Sports. “I was basically playing with one hand. In the midst of the losing streak, I just wanted to make sure to do everything possible to try to get us a win.”
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The 76ers’ Ben Simmons — who briefly dated reality star Kendall Jenner — said he immediately reacted in disgust after seeing his teammate’s injury.
“I nearly threw up when I saw that, but I’m glad he came back out,” Simmons told NBC Sports. “We needed him. He’s a big part of this team. We were glad to have him back out there.”
Added 76ers forward Josh Richardson: “It looked crazy … I commend him, first of all, for coming back — it’s not easy coming back from what happened. He said it was bothering him. It takes a lot of toughness to come back and play through it.”
While he helped the team earn another victory to improve their record to 24-14, Embiid is now questionable for Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics.
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“I want to play. It’s a big game,” Embiid told NBC. “Last time we played them, we had great success, but at the end of the day, whatever they want me to do.
“Obviously, I’ll try to fight it, but they care about me, so whatever they want to do,” he added. “We’ll see.”
Embiid made headlines last year when he jumped over Regina King as she sat courtside at Madison Square Garden.
