76ers’ superstar Joel Embiid diagnosed with Bell’s palsy

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Prayers up to you, Mr. Joel Embiid.

During an NBA post-season media conference after their one-sided win over the New York Knicks on April 26, 2024, the franchise player of the Philadelphia 76ers revealed that he has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Bell’s palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. Moreover, it results from damage to the facial nerve.

The treatment for Bell’s palsy varies due to its causes but if it is determined to be caused by an infection, it will be treated.

John Hopkins Medicine added that steroids to reduce inflammation, antiviral medicine, analgesics, and physical therapy are the most common ways to deal with this kind of ailment.

As per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Embiid already received treatment after experiencing some symptoms during their play-in game against the Miami Heat.

“I don’t know exactly what happened but I guess it’s a normal thing. I think it started a game or two before the Miami game. I had bad migraines and I thought it was nothing. Usually I don’t like to check it out but for some reason I ended up having to tell somebody,” Embiid said.

Despite the unfortunate event, Embiid was still able to will the 76ers to a 125-114 bounce-back victory over New York to bag its first win of the series.

Embiid was a monster on both ends of the floor for the 76ers and dropped 50 points derived from a 13/19 shooting from the field including 19 made free throws.

The future center of USA Basketball couldn’t be stopped from the get-go and was already bound for a big night after bullying his way inside the New York interior.

Embiid and Philadelphia will look to level its Eastern Conference series against the Knicks to 2-2 as they meet again on April 29, 2024, in Game 4 of their series.