Joel Embiid is back on an NBA opening night stage, and the Philadelphia 76ers will ask him to help answer some lingering questions right away.
The former Kansas Jayhawk is set to make his season debut Tuesday night when Philadelphia heads to Madison Square Garden to face the defending champion New York Knicks. It’s an immediate test for a retooled Sixers roster, and it comes against the team that shut down their playoff run last season.
Embiid is set to lead a Philadelphia group that now includes LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey. The NBA’s official game preview says the 76ers believe their offseason moves have put them in position to challenge New York as they chase a title.
For Embiid, the night carries a familiar weight. The former NBA Most Valuable Player has dealt with injuries in recent seasons, and his health has remained one of the biggest questions around Philadelphia entering the year. Opening night gives him another chance to show he can still anchor the team at a high level.
He offered a strong reminder in the preseason. In Philadelphia’s overtime loss to Boston, Embiid finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists, a line that showed he can still score, rebound and create for others.
The new supporting cast should make life easier around him, too. James adds championship experience and passing, Brown brings another polished scorer who can make shots on his own, and Maxey gives the 76ers speed and downhill pressure that can stress defenses in a different way.
The challenge, though, is a big one. New York is coming off its first NBA championship since 1973 and will raise its banner before the game. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks begin the season with the same goal they finished last one with: defending the crown.
Philadelphia has its own unfinished business. New York swept the 76ers in their second-round series last season, taking all four games and sending them home early. That result gives Embiid and the revamped roster a clear reason to come out swinging.
His matchup with Towns could shape the night. Embiid’s availability and production against the Knicks big man may end up influencing the tempo, the rebounding battle and how much damage either team can do inside.
In Other News...
Kansas Gets A Different Kind Of Baylor Test Next Week
Baylors four-game winning streak came to a halt with a 17-6 home loss to TCU, a result that knocked the Bears down in several national rankings and left them still searching for national respect. Even with that setback, the schedule does not get any easier, because Kansas is next and the Jayhawks are about to see a Baylor team that will be looking to clean up its offense in a hurry.
For Kansas, it is a different kind of test than the one the standings might suggest. Baylor is still outside the AP Top 25 and other major polls, but rankings can only tell part of the story at this point in the season, and the Jayhawks will have to deal with a team that has been good enough to stack wins before running into TCU. The real question next week is whether Kansas catches Baylor at its most frustrated, or at the point where a bounce-back performance starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Fans Face A Lance Leipold Reality They Wont Like
Kansas football keeps running into the same hard truths this season, and the bigger picture under Lance Leipold is starting to look a lot less comforting than it did when he first arrived. The Jayhawks are 0-4 against power conference opponents, and the issues keep showing up in the places that usually decide close games: situational football, consistency, and the ability to turn progress into something sustainable.
Leipolds track record in the rivalries matters too, especially in a state where Kansas State and Missouri still loom large in the conversation around the program. There are also questions about recruiting and whether the roster-building has been strong enough to lift the team past its current level. Even if Kansas were to move on, the financial reality around the program suggests that a coaching change would not automatically solve much, which is the part of this whole discussion fans probably do not want to hear. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Retirement Talk Just Put Kansas Fans On Edge
Bill Self had Kansas fans listening a little more closely than usual at Big 12 Media Days, where the longtime Jayhawks coach addressed the retirement chatter that has followed him through recent health concerns. Self said he is not currently thinking about ending his coaching career, easing some of the immediate worry around a program that has been shaped by his presence for so long. Around the league, the conversation quickly turned to what Self has meant not just to Kansas, but to college basketball as a whole, with coaches and players offering praise for his passion and his ability to keep winning at the highest level.
For Kansas, the bigger story is the stability Self still provides, even as the questions keep coming whenever health and age enter the picture. Athletic director Travis Goff voiced appreciation for everything Self has done and expressed optimism about what comes next, which only reinforces how central the coach remains to the Jayhawks future. The uncertainty is not whether Self has already built a Hall of Fame legacy, but how long Kansas can keep counting on him to keep steering the program. [Read more 🡒]