Philadelphia 76ers: Why Under Armour was smart to sign Joel Embiid
By Uriah Young
PERSONALITY
It’s hard to believe that a skinny kid from Cameroon, who didn’t play organized basketball until he was 15, could get a sneaker deal with the same company that has Steph Curry and Tom Brady on their endorsement roster. Well, that kid is all grown up now, and with the charm and wit of NBA All-star Joel Embiid, that disbelief can be suspended.
Once he joined the Sixers in 2014, the hype surrounding Embiid’s arrival only grew because of an injury that sidelined him for two seasons. In the meantime, what he could not display on the court, he learned to leave lasting impressions on social media. Whether he knew it or not, it was there that Joel Embiid began marketing himself.
More from Sixers News
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Breaking Down Bombshell Report on Sixers Star James Harden
The self-proclaimed “I love to have fun” big man let it be known through Twitter that he could stay relevant even while sitting at home. For example, his tweets to Rihanna, requesting a date, made a huge splash online, and Embiid’s Twitter star was launched. Why was this daring attempt to garner the attention of one of the hottest pop artists so monumental for Embiid? While he never got that date with her, it proved that he was unafraid to be himself, and of course, have fun.
Is he the only player to make such provocative moves on social media? Of course not. Yet, when you think of the stigma of big men being unable to sell shoes, Embiid’s brashness and amusing antics only help him rise above such underwhelming expectations. Excluding Shaquille O’Neal, most NBA centers have come across as stiff and uncool. For Under Armour to take a risk on Embiid, they had to recognize his unique traits and social media smarts.
David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, and Alonzo Mourning were All-Stars and made the NBA Hall of Fame, but their personalities could not rival Shaq’s during their era. Shaq admitted that his endorsement endeavors stemmed from a commercial starring Spuds MaKenzie, the Bud Light campaign mascot. He figured out from those commercials, featuring that cute dog, that humor sells.
Well, Embiid has picked up where Shaq left off. The difference? Embiid will dwarf the shoe sales of Shaq and the other mentioned big men combined. Why will Embiid surpass Shaq as an endorsement juggernaut? Let’s check out his multidimensional style of play.