The Sixer Sense
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Joel Embiid Has an Advantage for Rookie of the Year Award

By Josh Wilson

Feb 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid looks on during the first half of a game between the Temple Owls and the Connecticut Huskies at Liacouras Center. The Temple Owls won 63-58. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid looks on during the first half of a game between the Temple Owls and the Connecticut Huskies at Liacouras Center. The Temple Owls won 63-58. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Although Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid is going into his rookie season having missed two years, he does have an advantage that other rookies don’t.

Joel Embiid is not recognized by the average fan as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. Some might not even realize that he’s eligible for the award.

Drafted in 2014, Embiid missed his first two full seasons due to recovering from a surgery to repair his navicular bone in his foot, which was broken. Now, he looks as if he’s on track for this season, and he looks like he’s ready to hit the ground running. Still, despite being drafted in 2014, he is technically a rookie.

When comparing Embiid to the rest of the rookie class, he seems like he’s at a huge disadvantage. The rest of the front runners for the Rookie of the Year award are coming off of huge seasons at their previous institutions, and most importantly, aren’t coming off of being injured. Embiid, on the other hand, hasn’t played competitive basketball in over two years, which seems like a huge deal.

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Really, not playing competitively over two full years probably is a big deal. But what we’re forgetting is that where other players may be disadvantaged, Embiid has a huge edge. Embiid, although he has been injured for two seasons, hasn’t been doing nothing. He’s been sitting on the sidelines, absorbing NBA information like a sponge, and getting intense training from his coaches.

Really, it’s as if Embiid furthered his education, but not in a worldly sense. Instead, he was furthering his knowledge of the game, how traveling with a team works, what it’s like to have money and have to manage it, and things like that. While we could easily look at that and say, “okay, but he’s still disadvantaged on the court,” we should realize that a lot of Embiid’s counterparts competing for the award may have their performances slowed on the court by those setbacks.

Other players may have trouble with money management, the long schedule and lots of travel, and adjusting to being a famous icon to plenty of fans. The intangibles matter more than most people realize.

World B. Free, a longtime Sixer and current face in the organization said that Embiid is a, “man amongst boys.” He’s right. His rookie class is years behind him as far as NBA knowledge goes, and he can use that as an advantage.

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My guess is that the rookie class will get off to a better start than Embiid, but over time, as the long NBA schedule wears on them, and other intangibles get to their head, Embiid will level out with most of the high-level rookie competition, and possibly even overtake them.

Embiid may be a sleeper as Rookie of the Year, but he shouldn’t be completely counted out.