It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, especially if you’re a Philadelphia 76ers fan. Joel Embiid -- out with an orbital fracture -- now has a protective mask.
Will he play with it when he returns? For how long? Will he keep it on for comfort all through the playoffs, á la Rip Hamilton?
We can afford to ask seemingly innocuous questions like this, of course, because the Sixers are currently on a 14-game winning streak led by Ben Simmons. Since Philly isn’t in a bind, and nobody is panicking about Embiid returning quickly, we’re left to ponder his broken face.
Now, courtesy social media, we have our first look at Embiid’s new facial attire. To be perfectly frank: it’s sort of cool-looking.
Via Twitter:
The mask makes its debut 👀 pic.twitter.com/o8k5fs7WrV
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 11, 2018
It’s also worth taking some time today to prepare yourself for the slate of incoming “mask off” tweets that will echo around Twitter once Embiid eventually removes it.
Embiid was doing non-contact drills this past week, so it’s still not clear when he will return.