Joel Embiid's 76ers Injury Management Officially Under Investigation by NBA

The NBA is officially looking into the Philadelphia 76ers' resting policy for star center Joel Embiid.

After missing all of the preseason, Embiid also sat out of the Sixers' 124-109 season-opening loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. The team announced Tuesday that he won't play in any of its three games this week.

This certainly isn't the first year the Sixers have tried to be careful in managing the 2022-23 MVP's workload. He has never logged more than 68 appearances in a single season.

However, it appears Philadelphia and its best player are pushing things even further this season.

During the preseason, Embiid told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that "I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career." He also made other changes in an effort to stay healthy, such as shedding around 25 to 30 pounds and playing with a brace on his left knee.

The 30-year-old tore the meniscus in his left knee in January, and the Sixers cited the continued maintenance of that knee as why he missed the preseason and wasn't on the court this week.

The meniscus injury didn't preclude Embiid from representing Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, though, which might be part of the reason why the NBA is deciding to launch an inquiry.

While the league's new rest rules curb the extent to which teams can proactively rest their stars, there are various exceptions. Past injury history falls under that category and could potentially apply to Embiid.

Other teams around the NBA are likely following the situation with some interest. Should the league give Philly the green light for its resting plan with Embiid, it could create a blueprint for players with similar injury histories.