The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid Is First Of Three Championship Pieces

Bret Stuter|
Dec 14, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Toronto Raptors won 123.114. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Toronto Raptors won 123.114. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers had sought and waited four years to land a franchise player. Joel Embiid is the first of three such players for this team

The formula for a championship team, if you subscribe to basketball analytics, is to find three elite NBA players. One must be in the top 96 percentile, one in the top 90 percentile, and one in the top 79 percentile.

The Process of the Philadelphia 76ers is to sort through prospects in large numbers in order to find one, two, or three of those prospects.  While some interpret the incredible patience of the team as purposeful tanking, it truly isn’t that at all. It has been simply to cast a bigger net, to sort through more prospects as rapidly as possible.  Rather than shop the jewelry counter for an NBA Diamond, the Philadelphia 76ers have simply chosen to get a little dirty and mine for it themselves.

It seems like they’ve found one.

More Than A Feeling

Joel Embiid is more than just “a good prospect” to the Philadelphia 76ers.  He’s a team changing transcendent phenomenon. He not only plays well, but the team plays better around him.

It’s that type of player which gives the team a lift. But his offense is unique as well:

He is, for lack of a better team, the first NBA “Stretch-5”. He currently leads the team in scoring at 19.4 points per game.

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But he is more than an in-the-paint offense. He can and does shoot from the perimeter. In fact, his 36.8 percent accuracy from the perimeter is sixth best on the team. Add to that fact that he is a rookie, a rookie who has all of 25 NBA games under his belt.

Bill Simmons 'guarantees' Knicks will have one of three stars by next year
Bill Simmons 'guarantees' Knicks will have one of three stars by next year

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    • He’ll only get better. Much much better.

    How Far Is Up?

    It’s not too far out of reach to assert Joel Embiid is a rare NBA talent. With 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.0 assists per game to go with his 19.4 points per game, he creates a host of problems for his opponents. Still, there’s more to it. He has been capped on his minutes so far this season. In fact, he’s done all this on just 25 minutes per game.  If you simply convert him to “Per 36”, you have a 27.8 point, 10.5 rebound, 3.4 block, 1.0 steal, 2.9 assist center.

    His idol, Hakeem Olajuwon, delivered 20.9 points, 12 rebound, 2.7 block, 1.2 steal, 1.4 assist in his rookie season “Per 36”.  You know how high Olajuwon rose.

    If you place any stock in the BPM index of measuring prospective basketball talent, you find that Joel Embiid placed third on the index with a 14.9 measure. The top measure is Anthony Davis at 18.7, and second is Karl Anthony-Towns at 17.3. Curiously, the fourth top BPM index is Ben Simmons at 12.8. Is this a valid measure of NBA potential? It seems valid with the top three so far.

    For years, NBA fans around the league pointed to the win loss record of the Philadelphia 76ers and proclaimed the team was a blight.  While the team’s current record is just 10-25, I defy the same NBA fans to decry what the Philadelphia 76ers have done, and where they stand today.

    Next: Have Philadelphia 76ers Convinced Any NBA Teams To #TrustTheProcess ?

    There are few NBA teams out there capable of pointing to that one player who can take the team to an NBA Championship game.  Joel Embiid is such a rare player on the Philadelphia 76ers.  Is he he only one?

    Time will tell.