Not a day goes by when Sixers fans bounce the seemingly never ending question inside their heads. What will become of Joel Embiid? Ever since the Sixers took the risk on taking the injured Kansas Jayhawk center with the third pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, fans have been overwhelmed with a mix of angst, anticipation, and excitement. The feelings intensified as fans watched 82 Embiid-less games throughout the 2014-15 season.
Embiid had been compared to NBA greats for his polished skills on offense and his impressive defensive reactions. A popular one amongst Sixers nation has been the Hakeem Olajuwon comparison. I mean, it’s kind of hard to not have been excited about this guy. He has shown us an incredible range of skills on both sides of the ball in his short time at Kansas, and already had the body of an NBA player (Height: 7 foot, Weight: 250).
ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: Embiid Update II
Fast forward 12 months, where Yahoo! Sports reporter Adrian Wojnarowski delivered some devastating Sixers news.
Yahoo Sources: Philadelphia's Joel Embiid suffers setback in healing process, must sit-out thru further evaluation. http://t.co/yLHyP8xEvT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2015
Embiid’s setback was incredibly deflating for fans and the organization, who started to question their polarizing prospect. This report caused many questions and different theories about the “setback”. There was still those who were clinging to the hope that Embiid was still on the path to playing the 2015-16 season, and there were those who kind of just gave upon the thought of Embiid growing into a cornerstone.
Next: Time Is On My Side