Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis that he says has been affecting him since before the play-in tournament.
Joel Embiid led his Philadelphia 76ers team to an inspiring 125-114 Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks, despite confirming after the game that he is undergoing treatment for a mild case of Bell’s palsy.
The reigning NBA MVP scored 50 points, a career playoff record, in the crucial win, along with eight rebounds and four assists, putting the 76ers in the game for the first time in the first-round series.
Embiid explained after the game that he began suffering symptoms of Bell’s paralysis “a day or two” before Philadelphia’s game against the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament on April 17.
“I had bad migraines and I thought it was nothing,” he told reporters. “It’s pretty annoying, you know, with the left side of my face, my mouth and my eye. So yeah, it was difficult.
But I’m not giving up, so I have to keep fighting. But yeah, it’s unfortunate. That’s how I look at it. But it’s not an excuse. I have to keep pushing.”
Embiid said he had flashbacks of Jonathan Kuminga falling on his knee earlier this season when he committed the flagrant foul on Robinson in the first half.
“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody. In those situations, I got to protect myself, because I’ve been in way too many… pic.twitter.com/8GvaxBH7hJ
— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) April 26, 2024
Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in facial muscles. It can make one half of the face appear to sag, the smile may be lopsided and the eye on the affected side may not close.
The condition is usually temporary, but Embiid said he has no timetable for his recovery, adding that “it could be weeks, it could be months.”
He also said it affects his vision and that he puts drops in his eye to keep it from becoming too dry, though he managed to smile about the condition. “I have a beautiful face. I don’t like it when my mouth looks away,” the Cameroon-born superstar said.
