Joel Embiid Jokes, But Basketball Is No Laughing Matter To Him

He is the comic relief of the team, the infectious laughter of a young man win an irresistible upbeat mood. But when there is basketball to be played, he’s all work.

Joel Embiid is caught in limbo. He is the product of an NBA process of delayed gratification. His potential in undeniable – even known to be injured and out for an entire season, he remained one of the top ranked prospects of the 2014 NBA Draft. Had there been no concerns about his health, he likely would have gone number one.

He instead was selected third by the President and General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers Sam Hinkie, a move that may have saved the basketball career of Embiid, at the cost of Hinkie’s own NBA future. That fact is not lost on the young center of the Sixers.

When he broke onto the NBA scene, despite his injury, he wasted no time becoming a fan favorite by crushing on singer Rihanna.

But that has been a young man simply trying to pass the two plus years of rehabilitation, trying to take his mind off the fact that he is a basketball player who has been unable to play basketball for what feels like a lifetime.

Limbo.  The space of inaction caught between spaces of action.   For over two years, the fans of the Philadelphia 76ers have been hooked on the trickling of workout videos, scouting reports, and the occasional update to hold fast to the belief that he could be a very special player to the team and to the NBA very soon.

For that same time period, with no actual play on an NBA basketball court, the player has been suffering an onslaught of trolling from fans who point out he hasn’t played a game yet.  In a world with instant everything, a two year wait for a basketball player to make his appearance seems far longer than the reality.

I kept working,” Embiid said. “I was getting better each and every day.”

So how has he spent his time? Working on improving his health, and his overall basketball game.  You see, Joel Embiid is unlike many in the sport.  He is honest about his limitations. But that honesty of what he doesn’t do well gives him the advantage, because it’s that very shortfall that gets worked on in subsequent practices.  It has been part of him since he arrived at Kansas University.

"“I wasn’t good at all. I used to suck. I used to be —. My teammates were laughing at me, because I can’t even pass the ball. It was really tough. When I first started playing ball, it was hard. So I came a long way. The Kansas coaches, coach Norm Roberts and coach Self, they came to watch me. Coach Self was like quiet the whole practice and coach Roberts was like worried that he wasn’t going to like me,” Embiid divulged. “At the end of the practice, (Self) was like, ‘Are you —-ing kidding me? This guy’s gonna be the number one pick.’"

When he showed up to practice for the Kansas Jayhawks, he had to work even harder. His first day he was pushed around badly at the post. New to the game, his self awareness kicked in and he had second thoughts.

"“I’m like, ‘Coach, I can’t do this.’ And then (Self) goes, ‘Just keep working. You’ll see.’ I kept working,” Embiid said. “I was getting better each and every day.”"

Getting better each and every day. That’s his theme. Look past his humor, and you see a young man with an indomitable spirit, a young man who chased his dream of playing in the NBA around the globe, despite the lack of training, despite the change of culture, despite the completely new lifestyle. Joel Embiid has tackled as much change and hardship as a man can handle, just to realize his dream of becoming an NBA player.  But there will always be detractors, fans who troll professional athletes to earn a moment of their attention to defend themselves.

The regular trolling Embiid gets on twitter is merely serving to feed the beast.  In Philadelphia, the rule is to show us, don’t tell us.  Joel Embiid is a natural for Philadelphia sports.  He uses the vitriol as fuel to feed his engine.  And his engine is burning red hot right now.

Philly.com sportswriter Bob Ford caught a workout of Joel Embiid on a day when Brandon Ingram was audtioning for the team.  Despite the news of the day about Ingram, it was Embiid who captivated him and became the topic of discussion later as he interview Bryan Colangelo:

"You can see what he’s doing on the court,” Colangelo said, cocking his head toward Embiid. “It looks like he’s getting more fluidity every day. He’s done some things competitively, two-on-two and three-on-three in controlled situations, but the word ‘controlled’ is the key there. Everything’s got to be done within the process set forth and the timeline set forth by the doctors.”"

In Ford’s own words – If Embiid can be healthy and play to his obvious abilities, the rest of the roster can just hop on and take a ride. That’s a seasoned sportwriter there, sounding like the myriad of fans who believe that Embiid could be a key to the 76ers.  The key?  Translating those videos of inspiring workouts into NBA production.

His videos are not intended to show a player dominating an empty basketball court, but to show the progress to a fan-base hinging on any drop of news.  That progression of his video feeds is beautifully analyzed by Josh Wilson, who discusses the progress of the big man and how that will likely translate to the NBA this season.

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For those who like to point out that he hasn’t played a game in the NBA yet, that’s true.  But that is not a flaw of his potential, nor of his dedication.  It’s simply pointing out that Christmas hasn’t happened in October.

It’s not time yet.