A lot of people won’t have this Instagram photograph as high on their list as I do, but for me, this photo was special.
Hassan Whiteside, over the past few seasons in the NBA, has really established himself as a top-tier center in the NBA. Despite the fact that he doesn’t do much away from the rim, and that he can’t keep up with some of the new-age centers in the length of shooting ability, he is a really good center, and does make a case for how centers can still be effective today.
Whiteside makes his name with his defense, for the most part. There have been a few occasions where Whiteside has put up triple doubles with blocks. That’s pretty crazy, and for a center to not only be on top of his game on the defensive end with over 10 blocks in a single game, but also put up points and bring in rebounds makes the case for how a strong, back-to-the-basket center can still be effective.
He also pointed to how putting him up against a guy like Embiid can benefit him in some ways. Embiid wasn’t grabbing the rebounds on any of his missed 3-pointers because he was too far away from the rim. It does make some rebounding easier when Embiid is placing himself away from the hoop.
Still, in this meeting between the two players, Embiid and the Sixers won, so how much can Whiteside really say he was able to do?
After the game, Embiid put up this photo of him facing off with Whiteside. “BBQ chicken” as the location is the best part, by far, as he’s implying he’s about to cook (and did cook) Whiteside like a chicken.
This was early on in the season, and only gave fans a preview for what was to come both on the court and on Instagram. For me, this was a favorite post of mine. Embiid had made his name and made a big-name center talk about him. I felt like this post and this game embodied the start of a big career for Embiid.