Kendrick Perkins claims availability issues link the two stars, but Luka Doncic's deep postseason runs and Finals appearance tell a far different story than Joel Embiid’s injury-plagued career.
Kendrick Perkins’ comparison between Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid created an interesting debate, but it also flattened two very different playoff stories.
On First Take, Perkins said, “Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most, and it comes postseason time, he’s not available.”
On the surface, the comparison makes sense if the conversation is only about availability in the biggest moments. But once the full playoff context is added, Doncic and Embiid are not really in the same category.
Embiid’s postseason reputation has been shaped largely by injuries. The criticism has not been that he plays poorly when the lights are brightest. It is that Philadelphia often enters the playoffs wondering what version of Embiid it will get, or whether he will be physically right at all. Knee issues, facial injuries, conditioning concerns, and other setbacks have repeatedly complicated the Sixers’ postseason runs. Even when he is on the floor, he has too often looked slow and hobbled.
Embiid’s talent has never been the issue. When healthy, he is one of the league’s most dominant forces, a former MVP who can score from all three levels better than most centers in NBA history. But the Sixers have still never reached the Eastern Conference Finals during his tenure.
Doncic’s playoff criticism has been different. For most of his career, the questions have centered more on playstyle than durability. Does he hold the ball too much? Can a heliocentric offense win a title? Will his defensive limitations get exposed deep in the playoffs? Those are fair concerns, but they are basketball concerns. They are about how he plays, not whether his body can get him through a postseason.
Before this year, Doncic had only missed three NBA playoff games in his career, all in 2022. He played in every playoff game during the 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025 postseasons. That is not the profile of a player whose postseason career has been defined by absence.
There is also a major difference in team success. Doncic has already led a team to the NBA Finals. He carried Dallas through the Western Conference in 2024, proving that his style, even if imperfect, could survive multiple playoff rounds and reach the league’s biggest stage. Embiid has never gotten Philadelphia that far.
Overall, Embiid’s playoff story is about a great player whose body has repeatedly interrupted his team’s ceiling. Doncic’s story is about a great player whose style has been questioned even while producing deep playoff runs. Those are not the same thing.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at dixonwesley286@gmail.com.