Joel Embiid, in a ride-along video with Vice Sports, opened up about his journey in the NBA up to this point.
Joel Embiid is a Philadelphia 76ers big man who will likely be around for the next few years with the team. Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are the other two big men who have futures that are much more unknown, largely because one of them is likely to be traded at some point.
Embiid, however, has missed both of his first should-have-been two seasons due to injury, and therefore has no trade value. The Sixers have little choice but to ride out the journey with Embiid, and it sure has been a bumpy one.
In a video ride-along interview with Vice Sports, Embiid opened up a little bit about his journey up to this point. This was one of the first times we’ve seen Embiid in length with the media, so it was an interesting video for sure.
Embiid chose to first and foremost, address the reaction to him being selected by the Sixers at third overall. The long-running joke is that Embiid put on a very stern face when he was selected by the Sixers, but his explanation is that there was a delay in the video feed, and that he was truly excited when he was picked, although he did fall to third after being projected as the top overall pick.
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Embiid talked about falling in love with the game due to watching Kobe Bryant play in his prime, and talked about how he really wasn’t all that good when he started. He talked about how he had to come such a long way in his game, and even said, “I used to be a–,” about himself when he was first getting going with basketball.
As Embiid and Vice rode around the beautiful city of Philadelphia, Embiid talked about participating in an early scrimmage against Kansas players. Embiid remembers getting pushed around and telling his coach, “I can’t do this.”
Early words of inspiration pushed Embiid to keep working, which is exactly what he’s done in his NBA career as well, since he’s had to sit out two straight seasons and work back to healthy form.
“When I had the setback this past summer, it was really frustrating,” Embiid said. “The foot wasn’t even hurting or anything like that.”
Still, Embiid had to undergo surgery again and sit out another season. He has yet to play a single NBA game.
As far as tanking, Embiid did his best to put that talk aside. “Everybody just wants to win,” Embiid told Vice.
Embiid then transitioned to talk about how he’s just a funny, lovable guy, and how much he loves video games. He addressed his Twitter antics, saying that he doesn’t regret a thing, and hopes to bring more laughs to the people on social media.
He also hasn’t put the Shirley Temples down just yet. He said he drinks multiple pitchers a day.
“I’m just gonna let my game do the talking. I think some people are going to be surprised, and I can’t wait to show off.
Well said, Joel, well said.