Joel Embiid is indeed the face of the Sixers.
Embiid has agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed, "supermax" contract extension for $196 million.
The team announced the signing Tuesday morning, but did not disclose the terms. A source confirmed the contract's amount and length to NBC Sports Philadelphia, after ESPN's Ramona Shelburne first reported the news.
Shelburne reports the contract includes a player option in the final season and is based on a projected $124.95 million salary cap for the 2023-24 season.
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"Joel is the definition of elite -- a role model in our community and a true MVP-caliber superstar on the court," said Philadelphia 76ers Managing Partner Josh Harris in a press release.
Embiid, 27, is coming off of the best season of his career. He became eligible for a supermax deal by being named to the All-NBA Second Team and finished runner-up to Nikola Jokic in MVP voting, averaging 28.5 points on a 63.6 true shooting percentage and 10.6 rebounds.
Injuries have followed Embiid throughout his career. Most recently, he played through a small right lateral meniscus tear during the postseason.
“It’s a torn meniscus,” he said after the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to the Hawks in the second round. “It is what it is. I guess there’s a good and a bad in the loss. Now I can take care of my body. That’s something that I thought hard about, playing on it, but ultimately I decided to do it. It was my choice and I’ve got to live with the results. At the end of the day, when it comes to my future, I’ll be fine.”
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey declined to answer the question of whether Embiid required surgery on the night of the NBA draft, though he said the four-team All-Star “looks great” and the Sixers were “not concerned about him medically at all.”
While there’s inherent risk in a long-term, lucrative, fully guaranteed contract for a 7-foot center, such a commitment was necessary to ensure a player who’s already among the best in Sixers history stayed in the city.
Embiid has spoken frequently about his love for Sixers fans and desire to be with the franchise for his entire career.
“Fans are always there for me when I play, and I always mention that,” he said after scoring a career-high 50 points in February. “Playing in Philly, I have a lot of pride, and I play for the fans and I play for the city. All my goals when it comes to basketball are related to the city of Philadelphia.”
