Sixers star’s big Game 3 performance came while fighting Bell’s palsy

Bell’s palsy is a condition where a viral infection causes muscle weakness in one side of the afflicted person’s face. It usually slowly improves over the course of a few weeks, though until the. one side of the face can look droopy.

Embiid has looked different as a result, with his left eye blinking oddly. He’s been wearing sunglasses quite a bit as well.

Why did the news leak when it did? It might have to do with the controversy over Embiid’s flagrant foul on Mitchell Robinson, where the Sixers center pulled Robinson out of the air by his ankle, and also made contact with his groin.

It may be coincidental, but Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Embiid’s Bell’s palsy just before Robinson was spotted leaving the arena in a walking boot.

Embiid admirably put up 50 points while fighting Bell’s palsy. But it’s hard not to wonder if his desire to keep his ailment private ended when he wanted to change the postgame narrative about his dangerous play.