2. He will win Defensive Player of the Year
Embiid might have won Defensive Player of the Year last season if it weren’t for injury. He, rather ironically, had the injury storyline going in his favor for most of the season, with the eventual winner Rudy Gobert appearing in just 56 games.
But, as fate would have it, Embiid crashed his head into Fultz’s shoulder, causing him to miss the final eight games of the season. You can’t hand the award to Embiid because he played seven more games. That just isn’t enough of a difference.
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It does set Embiid up nicely for a run at the award in 2018-19, though. The Sixers will remain an elite defensive team and he’ll only get better on that end, as alluded to in the previous slide. Embiid also has the power of national attention on his side.
Embiid will rebound, block shots, nab a few steals, and force opposing offenses to alter their approach with his rim-protection presence. He’ll presumably be in the best shape of his life, and the counting stats will begin to match the analytics.
Last season, opposing teams were 7.4 points per 100 possessions better when Embiid sat. Combine that Embiid’s offensive boost, and the Sixers had a net rating of +13 per 100 possessions with Embiid on the court.
He single-handedly transforms the Sixers into an elite two-way group whenever he’s on the floor. Few players can change the dynamic of a game like Embiid, and that often starts on defense. He’ll have competition for Defensive Player of the Year — Gobert, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard — but expect Embiid to be firmly in the running.