Joel Embiid tried to play without his mask, but the Sixers wouldn’t let him

Embiid clearly hates the thing.

Joel Embiid played a few seconds against the Miami Heat in Game 3 without his mask, “forgetting” it on the sidelines, and then swatted Goran Dragic with it resting above his head just a play later. Embiid clearly doesn’t feel as comfortable playing with the mask, even as the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff insists that he wears it.

Here’s Embiid as he ran onto the court, almost certainly forgetting the mask on purpose.

Sixers head coach Brett Brown made teammate Robert Covington to take it out to him.

But on the next trip down the floor, right after shooting free throws with his mask raised above he head, Embiid sprinted down the court for an incredible block on Goran Dragic.

Embiid typically raises the mask above his head at the foul line, and he legitimately may not have had time to put the mask back down before sprinting down the court. You even have to wonder if Embiid’s lack of mask allowed him to line up that block, one that took incredible eye-to-hand coordination to time it just right.

That said, wear your damn mask, Embiid. It was reported that Embiid’s broken orbital bone could have permanently damaged his eyesight. That’s not something to mess around with.