A month ago, LeBron James and Joel Embiid met privately in Los Angeles for nearly two hours. LeBron asked Embiid directly about his health heading into the offseason and whether this would be another injury-plagued year. Embiid told him it was the first summer of his career without any surgeries and that he was fully healthy and locked in. That conversation stayed with LeBron. Weeks later, Sixers GM Mike Gansey publicly confirmed Embiid’s status during a press conference: “He has been putting in the work, up 15lbs of pure muscle. Now he’s around 295lbs but 13% body fat. We’re hoping it helps him stay healthy and dominate once again in the paint. He will take it up another level.” Gansey also noted it was the first offseason Embiid was truly healthy going into it and that he was in a “really good space.” Once Embiid’s health checked out, the combination of Embiid, Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and Edgecombe became the clearest option for a final championship run. (Via @ShamsCharania)