Who Will Have the Better Career: Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid?

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are two high-potential rookies debuting for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, but which will have the better career?

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are both debuting as rookies for the Philadelphia 76ers this upcoming season, but have very different stories of how they got to where they are in the NBA.

Joel Embiid was drafted in 2014, and was immediately benched due to injuries, and then missed his entire should’ve-been sophomore season due to setbacks and another required surgery.

Ben Simmons is a more traditional rookie, doing his one season in college at LSU and declaring for the draft. He was selected first overall by the Sixers in this year’s draft.

More from The Sixer Sense

Both of the players have large amounts of hype and expectations surrounding them. Simmons, being a top overall pick, is expected to be a transformative player on the offensive end of the floor with a solid ability to get to the rim, and an even better ability to pass and set his teammates up to score. His physique takes his high-level skills to the next level.

Embiid, on the other hand, is an incredibly key presence that has insane maneuvers that allow him to get to the hoop easily, even when he’s well guarded. In addition to that, he has more of a 3-point shot than your traditional big man.

The hype is huge, for both players. When two rookies have a lot of hype around them, they are often compared (Jahlil Okafor was compared to Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Simmons was initially compared to Brandon Ingram, and that will continue throughout their careers). Since they’re on the same team, there’s not much discussion regarding which player will have the better career, though, because it seems like there will be overlap.

There still will be overlap, but one will certainly come out on top as the better player. Sixers fans obviously hope that both players will go on to have legendary careers in different ways, leading the Sixers to multiple championships over the next decade or so. But one has to come out as the better all-time player.

Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is coming into his career in a good position to succeed. He’s been drafted by the Sixers, who have gone through three years of incredible amounts of losing (all in an effort to draft a player such as Ben). Because of that losing, and the makeup of the roster being mostly non-NBA or NBA role players, Simmons is being offered the chance to come in and be the leader right away.

And really, he’s expected to grab that role and run with it. He’s said the right things, and so far he’s done the right things, but only time will tell whether or not he can live up to “franchise player.”

Most rookies don’t get to start their career with that type of role on a team. Most have to ride the bench for a few seasons before gaining any type of significant role. Simmons, however, can start early and not waste any time, and potentially even have a shot at an All-Star game in his debut season.

The Sixers are going to build around Simmons since he’s being dubbed as the franchise player. Any free agency moves and trades that the team makes will be made with Simmons kept in mind, and if the fit is not good with Simmons, some of the moves that could happen may end up being vetoed.

In addition to all of those roster-structural things, Simmons also has a great skill set that I mentioned earlier. He has a scary good ability to get to the rim, incredible vision, and a great passing ability. His build all makes it even better, and he looks like he has the tools to be a superstar for years to come.

All of those things will help Simmons succeed moving forward, but there are a few areas where he is disadvantaged.

Joel Embiid

When talking about Joel Embiid, we’re talking about a bit of a mystery player. He’s been in the league since 2014, and he’s been talked about perhaps more than any other player on the Sixers over the last two seasons. Still, he has yet to take one step onto an NBA floor in a game situation, and hasn’t played competitive basketball since he was in college.

At one point, Embiid was projected to go first overall, but his injury forced the Cleveland Cavaliers to rethink.

The first thing that helps Embiid is his dominant build. Although he’s been off of the floor competitively for the last two seasons, he’s still been with the team, and still been bulking up. Showing off in Instagram photos, Embiid has added a ton of upper body muscle to a frame that was already slightly intimidating coming out of college. Now, he’s just downright scary.

Also, despite not playing, the coaches have worked closely with him over the last two seasons, and he’s been in the system a lot. He’s familiar with the staff, and is coming in as a rookie with a ton of knowledge from being around NBA trainers and soaking up information on the bench.

His skill set, like Simmons’, is solid. He comes in bearing instincts similar to Hakeem Olajuwon, and also adds a few wrinkles of his own that allow him to get to the hoop easily.

Another thing that helps Embiid’s career is the fact that he has an incredible passer (Simmons) on the same roster as him. Simmons will be able to set Embiid up with incredible looks in the key, allowing him to get his scoring numbers way up.

Who comes out on top?

In a controlled experiment where these two players are starting their careers at the same age, with the same health, and with the current skill sets that they posses (as observed from their last year in college) I would absolutely conclude that Embiid would have the better career. That being said, we have a lot more retrospect, and that leads me to believe Simmons will have the bigger career.

You see, in the NBA, being the star player on the team is a huge deal. Having that type of role lets you take control of the game, and let’s you have a platform that none of the other 14 players on the team can have. Simmons is going to have that.

Embiid, if he came into his career healthy, also would have had that. But since he’s coming off of two consecutive seasons being injured, he will not get the playing time to be the foundation of the franchise, nor will he be given the pressure needed to have that position.

Next: The Case Against Grant

Simmons is coming onto the team in a perfect position to succeed. He will do better than Embiid, and that’s not to say that Embiid will not do well with the Sixers, because I have reason to believe he will turn out to be a solid player, and potentially a star in the NBA. But when comparing him to Simmons, it’s clear that Ben will be set up to have the better career.