It was quite a weekend for the Sixers. On Friday, the team announced that Joel Embiid was being shut down for the season, and on Saturday, Quentin Grimes led the team to its first win since he joined the Sixers at the trade deadline.
In this week's Sunday Stats, we'll break down Embiid's season with some sense of finality and go more into Grimes' career performance that helped the Sixers snap their nine-game losing streak…
8-11
The Sixers' record in Joel Embiid's appearances in 2024-25.
An unfortunate reality: not only was Embiid available far less often than usual this season due to his damaged left knee, but he was also not nearly as imposing of a force when he did suit up for the Sixers. For almost a decade, the Sixers have been dominant when Embiid is on the court, no matter who he is sharing the floor with, and have fluctuated between capable and inept when he rests.
This year, the Sixers have barely been competent during Embiid's minutes while actually performing better without him. Embiid's offensive production hasn't dropped off massively, but it has gone from MVP-level to merely All-Star-caliber. He showed more signs of declining on the defensive end of the floor, where he was once special, but due to significantly reduced mobility, he was just not able to keep up with most players or remain a stout rim protector.
The Sixers will always have to be careful with how much they utilize Embiid's movement moving forward as they look to avoid adding unnecessary mileage to his troubled knee. But eventually, he must clear a certain threshold of movement ability that is required to not even be a defensive force but just a viable anchor of any NBA defense.
MORE: Sixers snap nine-game losing streak behind Quentin Grimes' 44 points
13.5
Joel Embiid's average shot distance (ft.) in 2024-25.
Embiid's previous career-high in average shot distance was 12.4 ft., which he set in what is now the second-most disastrous season of his career: 2019-20, when the Sixers built around Embiid and Ben Simmons by signing Al Horford and letting go of Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick. Embiid had no space to operate that year and had to settle far too often.
Embiid, whose average shot distance for his career entering this season was just 11.6 feet, has tremendous touch and is one of the better mid-range shooters in recent NBA history. But part of what has made him so lethal pulling up at the free-throw line, for example, is that the threat of him bullying his way to the rim is always lurking in the minds of his defenders.
But this season, Embiid just did not have the burst or the confidence in his knee to explode by players the way he used to. As a result, defenders were able to sit on the pull-up jumpers. Embiid's shot quality took a massive hit this season, the reason for greatly reduced overall efficiency.
$248,131,534
The estimated remaining money on Joel Embiid's contract.
Many continue to call for the Sixers to just cut bait with Embiid. But it is not nearly that simple. Good luck finding a team willing to take on this projected deal right after the season he just had:
Joel Embiid's contract after this season (2026-2029 salaries estimated based on cap projections):
– 2025-26 (age 31/32): $55,224,526
– 2026-27 (age 32/33): $59,539,200
– 2027-28 (age 33/34): $64,302,336
– 2028-29 (age 34/35): $69,065,472 (player option)
4 years, $248,131,534.— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 28, 2025
Embiid had two years left on a supermax contract when he inked a three-year supermax extension in September worth a projected $193 million. He is tied to the Sixers long-term, and there is no way around it.
MORE: Sixers fans, 'back in their comfort zone,' return to Tankathon
44
Quentin Grimes' new career-high in points, recorded in Saturday's win over Golden State.
The positive story of the weekend was Grimes, who outperformed Stephen Curry in a primetime matchup on national television to finally win a game as a Sixer. Grimes, 24, joined the Sixers in February as a renowned 3-and-D role player. But he quickly showed more juice as an on-ball scorer than anyone expected, and head coach Nick Nurse responded by giving him far more ball-handling responsibilities, including the backup point guard gig. Grimes, who played point guard in high school, has done nothing but shatter prior conceptions of who he is as a player.
All of this was punctuated on Saturday with one of the best scoring performances by any Sixer not named Embiid in the last several years. Grimes scored 44 points with a pristine 18-for-24 shooting line from the field, while also going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. He would have had a 50-point night if not for a bizarre 2-for-8 performance from the free throw line.
QUENTIN GRIMES SCORES A CAREER-HIGH 44 PTS IN THE SIXERS' WIN 😤
🔥 20 in 1H
🔥 18 in 3Q
🔥 18-24 FGM
🔥 6-9 3PM
What a night for @qdotgrimes! 👏 pic.twitter.com/FaIn2hJE96— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2025
Once Grimes followed up a 20-point first half with an extended scoring heater to open the third quarter, he said, he started to think, "Okay, I'm kind of feeling it, for sure." Grimes credited an aggressive mentality and the support of his teammates as he excelled at all three levels.
Grimes is proving what he has been saying from the outset: he is far more than an off-ball role player. As he gets set to hit restricted free agency in the summer, Grimes could be earning himself a lot of extra money with his expansion as a scorer.
MORE: Sixers tank watch 1.0: Can team climb higher in the lottery standings?
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