Joel Embiid is paying attention to all that has been said. While the Philadelphia 76ers are not really in the business of being too mindful of the outside noise, those conventional distractions could actually be useful, if only to motivate the team to silence their naysayers and prove them wrong this season.
After the kind of season they turned in during the previous campaign, the 76ers have become a frequent target of those loosely flying bullets from fans and pundits alike. However, criticisms are not synonymous with blatant disrespect, and there is no doubt that the team has caught way too many strays as of late, both as a collective and with reference to players as individual pieces.
Embiid tops that list in particular. It seems like everybody just forgot about how dominant he was — and still is — whenever he suits up in the hardwood with even just a semi-functional knee. Mind you, this is the exact same player who was just the undisputed favorite to win Most Valuable Player less than two years ago.
Epitomizing the kind of disrespect that has been levied on his way is the fact that he completely snubbed by those so-called pundits in their proverbial, mundane player rankings before the season. In one particular ranking, he was even completely left off… the “Top 100” list. Ludicrous, right?
Joel Embiid gets ultimate disrespect that can motivate him to supercharge the 76ers
In the aftermath of his first return to the hardwood after a long absence, Embiid easily attracted a lot of interested heads. During his post-game presser, he took a shot at that player list, which actually came from The Ringer.
”I see all these guys. I’m here to help out. According to a lot of your peers, I’m not even a top 100 basketball player in this league. So I guess I just gotta fit in and see where I can help the team win.”
Nice clapback, Joel.
When healthy, even if not at 100 percent playing capacity, Embiid is a top-five basketball talent. There is no doubt about that. Up to this point, no one in the league can slow him down or even handle him in one-on-one situations, making him arguably the best isolation scorer in the NBA at his peak.
During his preseason debut, he still showcased that otherworldly scoring skill, albeit with more emphasis on doubling as a release valve on offense as a playmaker. That is probably the role the 76ers are envisioning for the superstar moving forward, which also plays well into the team’s much-needed missive to easen the load on his body.
Hopefully, Joel Embiid gets to showcase his reinvented, yet equally lethal game this season. The 76ers, after all, will go wherever he takes them, and they simply stand no chance without him reprising his dominant self, even if through a different, more streamlined way.