Philadelphia 76s Center Joel Embiid Dominates in Return Against Detroit Pistons

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid made his triumphant return to action on Tuesday night, and he certainly made his presence felt in a 147-116 blowout win over the Detroit Pistons. In only 24 minutes, the overpowering center scored 36 points on 12-20 field goal attempts with 11 rebounds.

36 PTS | 11 REB | 2 BLK

big performance from the big fella. vote @JoelEmbiid for NBA All-🌟: https://t.co/dy1hdG6pzF

🎥 presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/4Qo3VVz83R
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 11, 2023

Embiid had missed the last three games due to foot soreness. He has been a dominant force for the 76ers when available this season, averaging 33.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game over his 29 appearances. He's also hitting on a career-best 53.4% of his field goals.

Embiid's continued ascent into greater and greater extremes of superstardom has lifted the 76ers to a 25-15 record this season, fourth-best in the Eastern Conference. He's having an MVP-calibre season, but unfortunately for him, so are many other players. If he can maintain his play (and good health), he'll be in the conversation at the end of the year along with fellow international greats Luka Doncic (34.9 PPG, 8.7 APG, 8.9 RPG), Nikola Jokic (25.0 PPG, 9.7 APG, 10.8 RPG), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.7 PPG, 5.2 APG, 11.8 RPG).

The 76ers will host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.