It had been a long time since 76ers fans saw Joel Embiid on a basketball court. Longer still since the one-time NBA MVP looked dynamic, explosive and joyful there.

So Friday night’s 126-110 win over mostly reserves from the Minnesota Timberwolves was merely a 19-minute first step. But it was one that left the center, never bashful of showing his frustration, showing the opposite.

“I feel pretty good,” Embiid said. “Obviously this is mostly a learning process, getting back, seeing everything, obviously feeling good on the court. And then how the body reacts. We are going to learn as we go, as every game comes by. Let’s see how it feels tomorrow.”

The approach is still wait-and-see, day-by-day and whatever other hyphenate the 76ers concoct for Embiid’s oft-battered body. But this week had a normal-feeling rhythm to it – of a player with a long-term injury floated as a possibility to play on Tuesday, then progressing Wednesday and Thursday before clearance Friday and a plan for the preseason finale.

With the caveat that preseason stats are often meaningless, Embiid looked like something close to Embiid: 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, 2-for-4 from 3-point range, eight assists, three steals, seven rebounds and four turnovers.

Coach Nick Nurse called it less rusty than he expected from someone who hasn’t played since Feb. 22, the last of Embiid’s 19 games last year in which he was often labored, constantly struggling with various ailments and just not seeming to enjoy being out there.

“That was about exactly where we wanted to be with the minutes, right in the ballpark with it,” Nurse said. “It was some quick stints, and then obviously we’re going to have to see where it goes from here. But that was the plan right there pretty much. It worked out good.”

Embiid played the first 6:16 of the game. He rested the balance of the first quarter, then a three-minute burst to start the second and another to close it. He also played the first six minutes of the third quarter to end his night.

“I’m most impressed with his shooting,” Nurse said. “Such a long layoff, and he is such a great shooter. I tell him that all the time, you’re such a great shooter. We need him shooting those shots.”

How his debut fits into the larger context is most tantalizing, though in need of restraint. Embiid was plus-12. He started with Adem Bona, a two-big look that allows the second-year center to handle the defensive dirty work and obviates the almost decade-long quest to find a floor-stretching power forward to complement Embiid.

Embiid also played next to Dominick Barlow at the four. He got time with primary ballhandlers Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes.

The eight assists speak to pace, the 76ers getting the ball up and down the court quickly. Maxey had 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting in 30 minutes. Edgecombe had 26 on 10-for-18, with five steals in proving a defensive menace. Grimes had 22 points in 26 bench minutes. Even without Paul George and Jared McCain, there are signs of how the pieces could fit together.

Embiid remains the biggest piece, whose absence renders the rest academic. Friday was a positive step, albeit the first tentative one on a long pathway. But the things that needed to happen did, which start with Embiid’s body and mind.

“I think the biggest thing that I felt was his joy and how happy he was to be out there and how happy I was for him to be out there,” Maxey said. “The first thing I asked him before we went out there was like, hey are you excited? He’s like, man I’m so excited to be out there to go play. So I’m happy for him.”

“I’m in a good space mentally, physically,” Embiid said. “First of all, I’m just happy to touch a basketball and play basketball and do what I love. When you don’t get that, it’s tough. But that’s what I’m most happy about. Tonight, that’s all I kept thinking about. I’m on the court, playing basketball, doing some good things, helping us win.”