PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid called Andre Drummond last summer to persuade him to return to the 76ers as a free agent. So as Drummond sat before reporters following Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls to close a dreadful, injury-riddled 24-58 season, he was asked for any insight on how Embiid is feeling mentally after undergoing his latest knee surgery days earlier.

“That’s a question you’ve got to ask him,” Drummond said. “I’m not in that man’s mind. But what I do know is he’s trying to get healthy, like the rest of us. We all want to be here. We all want to win at the highest level.”

The assembled media could not ask Embiid, because he was at a follow-up appointment and rehabilitation session in New York City. The former NBA Most Valuable Player, whose ongoing knee issue limited him to 19 games this season, has not spoken publicly since late February, despite an NBA-mandated media-access policy that requires players ruled out for the season due to injury to hold a timely session with reporters.

Yet Embiid’s health outlook remained a dominant topic as teammates, coach Nick Nurse, and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey rolled through the Wells Fargo Center for final questions before dispersing for a longer-than-expected offseason. And hope permeated that, after Embiid recovers from this arthroscopic procedure, he can return to dominant form.

“Coach [Nurse] and I aren’t doctors. We have to rely on the information they give us to make our decisions,” Morey said Sunday evening. “It’s not just one doctor. We’re talking about multiple doctors. Dr. [Jonathan] Glashow, going in there with surgery [and] coming out very optimistic, makes us optimistic.”

Perhaps Morey and the Sixers are optimistic because they have no choice but to be. In September, Embiid signed a three-year max contract extension that takes him through the 2028-29 season. And the core also featuring point guard Tyrese Maxey and wing Paul George — and, therefore, this era of the franchise — likely hinges on Embiid’s recovery and reintroduction as a formidable anchor on both ends of the floor.

But Morey said Sunday that the positivity comes after Embiid consulted with more than 10 doctors, including six in-person examinations, to get to the “right answer” on how to proceed with treatment. Glashow will also handle Embiid’s early rehab process in person, Morey said. Embiid will be reevaluated in six weeks, according to a team news release following the surgery.

“This has been a very complex situation for Joel, for our medical staff, for outside folks like Dr. Glashow,” Morey said. “Figuring out exactly the right next step to make sure we can put him in the best way to help our team win a championship is not straightforward. And that’s why, I think, you get different reports, because it’s [a situation] where you do need to gather a lot of data and a lot of opinions, and then make the right choice.

“We feel good about the choice. I know Joel does about the choice.”

Still, this was essentially a lost season for the 31-year-old Embiid, who has played in only 58 regular-season games since the start of 2023-24. It is also an unfortunate career turn since Embiid blended eye-popping force and skill to become the 2023 MVP and two-time scoring champion, then dropped 70 points in a January 2024 victory against the San Antonio Spurs.

He tweaked his knee shortly after that masterful performance, then tore his meniscus when the Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga inadvertently fell on his leg less than a week later. Embiid underwent surgery and missed about two months before returning just before the playoffs, then labored through a first-round loss to the New York Knicks while also dealing with a bout of Bell’s palsy. Embiid also played in the Paris Olympics in August, but his knee was not ready for the start of the Sixers training camp — or the season opener in late October.

And even when Embiid did play in stints before being officially shut down in late February, he often looked visibly hobbled or hesitant to jump.

“To see him suffer,” said Maxey, who has developed an on-court partnership and off-court friendship with Embiid, “to see him go out there and actually try and he just couldn’t be himself, you could tell. … I’ve seen him do so many spectacular things, and I gave him the ball a couple times in moments where I think that he’ll do something, and he just couldn’t.”

This is the latest item on a lengthy list of health struggles for Embiid, dating back to when he missed his first two NBA seasons with foot issues. Embiid has acknowledged, however, that this injury and attempted recovery has taken the biggest mental toll, revealing he has spoken to a therapist and has struggled to regain “trust” in the knee.

“As much as it was hard on the coaching staff or the other players on the team that he wasn’t available, it was hardest on Joel,” Morey added Sunday. “He takes a lot of pride in being the MVP-level player he can be, and what that means for the fans and Philly.

“I do think he takes to heart what Philly fans care about and what they want him to be, which I think is great, because it puts high expectations [on him].”

Maxey on Sunday commended Embiid for remaining a supportive teammate while sidelined, saying “he helps me all the time. … He puts his two cents in, and we appreciate that.” Rookie guard Jared McCain, who underwent his own meniscus surgery in December, added he has enjoyed sitting next to Embiid on the bench during games and that he has “nothing but respect for [Embiid], just the way he handles everything.” George said even their limited game action together helped him learn how to play off a big man of Embiid’s caliber, and that he plans to spend time with Embiid on and off the court this summer.

“It just comes down to trust,” George said. “Trusting one another. Trusting our process. … He was letting me know, ‘Hey, you can play this way. You can do this. You can do that.’ That kind of helped with me getting adjusted and acclimated to the team.

“I don’t see that being a problem [next season]. We both look forward to it, and I think it’s a better understanding from both of us going into next year.”

Embiid’s knee issue was the most decimating of a barrage of injuries — and ever-changing lineups, as a result — that became impossible for the Sixers to navigate during this failed season.

Maxey missed the final 22 games with a finger sprain that he estimates still needs about a month to heal. Several role players — from McCain, to Drummond, to the since-traded Caleb Martin — were out for significant stretches. The 34-year-old George, who also has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his standout career, was sidelined for half the season with knee, finger and groin issues. Embiid, Maxey and George — who were All-Stars in 2023-24 — missed a combined 134 games.

Still, Morey stood on his decision to commit long-term, max salaries to Embiid and George — along with the 24-year-old Maxey — last summer. Adding George to the Embiid-Maxey tandem was an example of “aggressive moves to upgrade around that talent in that window,” Morey added, even if the Sixers are now “somewhat indexed to talented players who are a little more injured.”

That is why Morey has since concluded that his misstep during the previous offseason was focusing too much on adding veteran role players with postseason experience and success, instead of ones who were younger and more dynamic to help the Sixers get through the 82-game regular season. Morey hopes players such as McCain, restricted free agent Quentin Grimes and rookie Justin Edwards can fill those voids moving forward.

Reviving those championship aspirations in 2025-26, however, likely hinges on Embiid getting back to something resembling his old self. Which is why the Sixers might not have any choice but to be optimistic that this latest surgery, and the offseason recovery, can finally get him back to that level.

“He fights lions and tigers and bears,” teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. said Sunday, “and he can conquer whatever he’s going through right now.”

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