The Sixer Sense
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The Sixer Sense Roundtable: Joel Embiid First Impressions

By Josh Wilson

Nov 7, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before a game against the Utah Jazz at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before a game against the Utah Jazz at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with head coach Brett Brown before entering the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with head coach Brett Brown before entering the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Embiid was largely considered a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year coming into the season, but I’m not sure anybody — including myself — was expecting such a dominant run out of the gates. He legitimately looks like a budding star, and has made dubbing himself “The Process” more and more justified as the season progresses.

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This is a Sixers team that has been looking for that core piece to build around over the past few seasons, and with neither Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel emerging as that type of player yet and Ben Simmons missing time to kick off his first season, this was a much needed boost of confidence for a fan base that has lacked that type of cornerstone talent to cheer for in recent years. Embiid has two-way upside that few big men in this league outside of Karl-Anthony Towns can really relate to, and names like DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis genuinely come to mind when I watch him play.

Those are two top 10 players in the NBA, as well as a player in Towns who seems well on his way to placing his name into the conversation later down the road. Embiid’s physical stature at 7-2 is unmatched in virtually every matchup he faces, and he has developed the type of offensive versatility during his time off that few players his size ever come close to reaching.

There are still some efficiency issues, but that’s fairly common and something you’d expect given the scenario. He still hasn’t played competitive basketball in two years coming into the campaign, and is being forced immediately into the go-to scoring role on a team that doesn’t have much firepower around him.

He’s knocking down 3-point shots at a high clip and his footwork is already more advanced than the vast majority of 22-year-olds in the NBA, which leads me to believe his efficiency will begin to creep up as he gets more and more acclimated to this league.

He’s the best defensive player on this team and the best offensive player, which rarely comes in combination nowadays. It’s really hard not to get excited about this guy moving forward.

— Christopher Kline