Young NBA stars often stumble from their own success. Winning is like climbing, eventually someone looks down and realizes the height. But Joel Embiid is a special player who helps the Philadelphia 76ers come together despite success
Success is its own worst enemy. The Philadelphia 76ers are winning, but let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t “success”. The team is merely winning. As much as it pains me to say it, the Boston Celtics are enjoying success. That 16-2 record is success. Not because of the wins themselves, but due to the winning streak and doing it short-handed. But the Philadelphia 76ers will get there. Each game shows a little more polish, a new career high for a player.
Wins are coming now. Success will soon follow. But with success comes pressure. Pressure to win more, pressure upon the team and pressure upon each individual player. You see, when you lose games, it’s no pressure. Players play for the thrill of the game. But start winning and expectations rise rapidly. Fans start to pressure the coaching staff for game decisions. Players start to believe media representations of who is the most valuable player on the team.
To defeat that tendency, a young team needs to laugh at themselves. Winning is winning, it comes and it goes. Confidence is needed to win. But too confident, and a team stops working hard to win. So how do you defeat that? Learn to laugh at yourself.
Success is its own worst enemy
In the end, the biggest enemy to success is success itself.
Related Story: For these Philadelphia 76ers, the best is yet to come
But Joel Embiid is more than a social media savant, or a formidable wall of defense at the basket. He is more than points in the paint. He is comic relief for this team. He plays hard and competes vigorously, but he doesn’t take himself seriously. And that laughter he bellows on the basketball court is infectious, and important.
Joel telling it like it is. pic.twitter.com/G5F4T7b5OS
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 21, 2017
In the end, players cannot be so successful that they begin to look down. Mistakes will happen. Losses will come. Assignments will be missed and tempers will flair. But its so hard to give into fear in the middle of howling with amusement. And whenever Embiid is on the court, howling laughter is possible at any moment.
Related Story: Philadelphia 76ers guard TJ McConnell is Joel Embiid’s “Mini Me”
Let’s face it. The young man began his NBA career on the bench for two seasons. While NBA fans nationwide trolled him, he laughed at them and himself. He took to publicly wooing Rihanna and made it a punch line for the nation to laugh with him.
Never bet against Joel Embiid at an arena where Rihanna might randomly show up
— Pablo Torre 🏴☠️ (@PabloTorre) November 16, 2017
And he continued to laugh until he was able to step foot on the basketball court.
Laughter is the best medicine – queue Embiid
That laughter is the antidote to the team closing in on true success. After all, nobody fears enjoyment. And as long as the Philadelphia 76ers have the comic relief of Joel Embiid, they will be inoculated to the pitfalls of freezing up in big games or big moments.
Daily Knicks
Let’s face it. Joel Embiid is more than meets the eye. His ability on the court are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the overall contribution of the player. He works social media like it’s his native language. He relates to the fans of Philadelphia as though he is Philly’s native son. And he knows just when to raise the bar on this team, and when to laugh it all off.
Playoff bound
The Philadelphia 76ers are 9-7. Right now, that’s good enough for the playoffs if the team can sustain this pace. But the true “Pedal to the metal” moments have yet to come. Will this team continue winning when the stakes get higher?
By all accounts yes, and likely even moreso than now. This team is not just getting better, it’s getting closer. Teammates genuinely like one another. In fact, the camaraderie is so contagious that Eagles players are seen in the stands for 76ers games, and Sixers players are seen in the stands for Eagles games.
Next: RECAP: Philadelphia 76ers 107, Utah Jazz 86
The City of Brotherly love is learning how to win, and loving every minute of it. That is the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia 76ers. But while the city loves, it laughs too. You can thank Joel Embiid. Winning is serious business. But success should be fun. With Embiid, winning, and success, will always be enjoyable.