On Tuesday afternoon, the 76ers (6-4) announced center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Tuesday night’s game at Xfinity Mobile Arena against the Celtics (5-6) due to right knee soreness.

The team went on to say he’s being evaluated by team doctors, and further updates will be provided as appropriate.

This will be the fifth game Embiid has missed in 11 games to start the 2025-26 season, as the former league MVP underwent knee surgery in April. Ahead of opening night, there were questions as to whether or not the 31-year-old would be made available as he continued working his way back to full strength.

Is Embiid’s three-year extension for $193 million with the 76ers one of the worst contracts in NBA history?

Last season, he only managed to play 19 games as he dealt with lingering issues in his left knee. It was those issues that inevitably led to Embiid’s April surgery.

In his six games this season, Embiid’s scoring is way down from his career average of 27.6 points per game. Embiid is at just 19.7 points per game, attempting almost 7 fewer field goals (14.5) a game than he did during the 2023-24 season (21.8). It was in that season where Embiid averaged a career-high 34.7 points per game on 52.9% shooting in 39 games of action.

Why only 39 games?

You guessed it. Injuries.

Embiid is far from the player he was during the 2022-23 season, where he just squeaked past Nuggets (7-2) center Nikola Jokic to win the regular season MVP. As centers get older, their ability to remain effective without evolving into a stretch five becomes more and more difficult. That wear and tear is real for players 7-feet and up.

It appears we’re headed towards the end for Embiid as a star in this league sooner rather than later.

Despite his ineffectiveness this season, Embiid missing Tuesday night’s game against the Celtics benefits Boston more than it would for a lot of other opponents, as Boston has struggled mightily with both rebounding and defending the post this season.

That’s what happens, of course, when you lose Jayson Tatum to injury, trade Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta (6-5), and watch Al Horford and Luke Kornet walk in free agency.

Embiid is no world beater these days, but his body not being in the mix on Tuesday will give guys like Neemias Queta and Luke Garza more room to play their game on both ends of the floor.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.