Joel Embiid
Height: 7-foot-2
Weight: 275
Wingspan: 7-foot-5.75
Strengths: Strong physical center who has remarkable athleticism, and a nearly photographic memory. Once he sees a move or play, he can replicate it with little practice. He’s had two years to develop a shot arsenal in the training gym. Now all that physicality and athleticism gets a chance to debut for the NBA.
Weaknesses: He’s coming off a two year rehab of his foot, and the depth of his basketball training was shallow prior to the injury. He is a very competitive athlete who may try to do too much as he enters the NBA. Meting out his playing minutes and alternating his appearances will contribute to getting real time coaching feedback which will be essential to develop his full range of NBA talent.
Fit to Team Scheme: In theory, he’s another nearly perfect fit. Due to his height and athleticism, his post game should rival that of teammate Jahlil Okafor. But where Okafor can get stuck on double teams, Embiid will be able to pass out of traffic. His strength will be shooting near the basket, but he can shoot from range as well. That will give Brown plenty of options for the offense to mask plays with player movement.
Platinum Tier Requirement: To achieve platinum tier for an NBA center, Embiid will need to score 25.0 points per game, pull down 14 rebounds per game, and block 2.5 shots per game. Part of the struggle in gauging Embiid’s progress is understanding that while he was drafted a year earlier than Karl-Anthony Towns, he will debut a year after the young center from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Gold Tier Requirement: The top 10% of the NBA tier would require Joel Embiid to score 18.5 points per game, as well as pull down 11.5 rebounds per game, and block 2.25 shots per game.
Silver Tier Requirement: The top 21% of the NBA tier would need Embiid to contribute 16.0 points per game, as well as pull down 11.0 rebounds per game, and block 1.9 shots per game.
Likely tier projection: Platinum.. Perhaps optimistically, I expect that the careers of Towns and Embiid to take similar tracks, albeit Embiid will be a year behind Towns. Embiid will struggle to achieve 30 minutes per game average this season. However, I expect his “per 36” to come in at 20.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks this year.
Next: Player One: Luwawu