Joel Embiid
The first piece fell to the Philadelphia 76ers by accident. Literally. If not for the stress fracture in his back and his foot injury, Joel Embiid would be playing elsewhere. The 2014 NBA Draft for the first three picks were: Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid was the consensus “highest ceiling” potential in that draft. But he projected as rehabbing for one year. That amount of injury rehabilitation warded off all but the Philadelphia 76ers. And that rehab time doubled to two years for the young center.
And so, despite the trials and tribulations to get there, and the shallow basketball experience gathered along the way, he exploded onto the NBA scene a year ago. Not just a “wow” moment, but 31 games where fans and sports afficianados alike took notice.
Center stage
Now for the main course. Joel Embiid allows the Philadelphia 76ers to do some things no other team in the NBA does. The first element is to run the offense through the center. In the modern NBA, the best teams simply have the best back courts. Guards who can drive to the basket, but who can launch an arsenal of three-point shots at any given point in the NBA game. Embiid allows the 76ers to do all that. Even with the perimeter shooting. A 7-foot-2 perimeter shooter will get a lot of clean looks at the basket.
The second major attribute which comes with Embiid’s game is the excellence on both ends of the basketball court. The team get the best of offense and defense when he is on the basketball court. And he’s just 89 games into his career.
Brett Brown on Joel Embiid rarely taking part in team practices/shootarounds this year: "He's going to be off the charts special, and off the parts good, when he gets into a true basketball life. Right now it's not that."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) March 20, 2018
He’s the crux of the rebuild. And that’s why the Philadelphia 76ers are so good.