Philadelphia 76ers starting center Joel Embiid showcased his new protective face mask in warmups before the final game of the season today. He is the latest in a string of NBA masked men in the sports history
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is already an iconic NBA figure in just his second season in the NBA. Even more dramatically, his official number of NBA games played is 94. That’s hardly a number to draw sage experience from. But Joel Hans Embiid is not an ordinary NBA Player. His path to the NBA is one that will likely never be repeated again. After all, the 7-foot-2 250 pound Embiid did not turn towards basketball until later in life. And even after doing so, his first experiences with organized basketball came in limited doses.
He did not join the Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament. And once drafted, he did not join the Philadelphia 76ers active roster for two additional seasons. So his first year of 31 games in the NBA and his second season of 63 games in the NBA has left his background in basketball rather shallow. Some cite the young center as “injury prone”. Perhaps. But it’s not fragility, as much as it’s his aggressive style of play on the basketball play.
Injured, but coming back
And it was that going for the ball that resulted in the freakish accident which sidelined him these past few weeks. While the Philadelphia 76ers never delivered a timeline for Embiid’s return, the rapid move to operate was hugely positive. And as news continued to trickle in, we continued to become more optimistic in our projections for his return to health and to the team.
Joel Embiid on hoping to be ready to play, but not ready yet. Says ‘unlikely’ be able to play in Saturday’s playoff opener: pic.twitter.com/H7CgYpOHVd
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) April 11, 2018
In the meantime, the team has used the time to continue to win.