Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Hawks on Sunday in 10th straight absence; VJ Edgecombe and Andre Drummond questionable
Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) will miss his 10th consecutive game when the Sixers host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday evening, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Saturday. VJ Edgecombe (left calf injury management) and Andre Drummond (right knee contusion) are listed as questionable:
The Sixers have an injury report for tomorrow’s game vs. Atlanta:
Joel Embiid — right knee — OUT
VJ Edgecombe — left calf — QUESTIONABLE
Andre Drummond — right knee — QUESTIONABLE
Trendon Watford — left adductor — OUT
Kelly Oubre Jr. — left knee — OUT
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) November 29, 2025
For Embiid, who has missed nine games in a row since his last appearance on Nov. 8, the last eight absences have come as a result of a right knee issue that Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said he first reported to the team on the morning of Nov. 11. Ever since, Nurse and the team have labeled Embiid’s right knee issue as day-to-day, yet now it will be nine straight games he has missed.
Embiid was listed as questionable leading into Tuesday’s game, a clear signal of hope that a return was coming, but then was ruled out a handful of hours before tip-off. Here is what Nurse said when asked what the team saw to feel compelled to list Embiid as questionable then, which it has now opted not to do in its two games since:
In light of this quote re: Joel Embiid being downgraded from questionable to out Tuesday, I asked Nick Nurse what the team saw then that they didn’t see before tonight game, for which Embiid was ruled out early.
Here’s the full Q&A: https://t.co/0jikvCfi0a pic.twitter.com/XUXU76okVk
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) November 28, 2025
Nurse said on Saturday that Embiid has to “get through some pain, and also some on-court activity” when asked once again what was preventing the former NBA MVP from being on the court. He said there was “a chance” Embiid would play on Sunday, “but I don’t know if I would put it as good, bad or medium.”
Nurse also opened the door for Edgecombe to return to action on Sunday, his three-game absence due to a left calf issue has been his first time off the floor in his young NBA career. Edgecombe’s first two absences came with a “left calf tightness” designation, even though Nurse referred to it as a “strain” before the second game. Edgecombe’s third absence, on Friday night in Brooklyn, was listed as “left calf injury management.” Nurse said on Saturday that Edgecombe took part in the team’s walkthrough, and the team does not bother putting players through if it does not believe there is at least some chance they will play.
The most encouraging news on Saturday was that Drummond, whose painful knee injury in Brooklyn put a damper on his late-career resurgence and the Sixers’ win over the Nets, has avoided a serious knee injury. The team said that an MRI confirmed Drummond’s right knee had no structural damage and that the veteran center was feeling better. Nurse called the news “awesome” and said that Drummond should be “back out there fairly soon,” even adding that the 32-year-old spent some time on the court.
The expected absences: Watford and Oubre, whose longer-term injuries have not yet reached their re-evaluation checkpoints. Oubre is nearing his, though, with an update likely coming on the veteran swingman next week.
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