Written By: Pat Flanagan Full Court Press Radio
Its Been A Two Year “Process”, But It Has Payed Off For Sixers Fans
Joel Embiid’s path to the NBA spotlight has been a grind. During his time at Kansas, Embiid was talked about as potentially being drafted number one overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. He suffered a foot injury and instead slipped to third overall. After 2 years of rehabbing various complications to his injury, Embiid made his NBA debut on October 26th. In his first NBA game, the long awaited Embiid was introduced to the crowd at the 76ers’ Wells Fargo Center as “The Process.” He scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in only 22 minutes of play against the talented bigs of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
These types of numbers have been routine for Embiid, aged 22, and was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. During the month of November,Embiid led all rookies in scoring with averages of 18.2 points , 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks, warranting fans to start chants of “MVP” and “Trust the Process”, the team’s unofficial motto. Even more impressively, the 7’3 Embiid is shooting 50% on three pointers. Embiid was not known for shooting threes in college, and such an improvement can only be attributed to his hard work in the gym the last two years.
While Embiid’s numbers are impressive on their own, he is only averaging 24 minutes per game. Per 36 minutes, Embiid is averaging a staggering 28.9 PPG, 3.8 blocks, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Those numbers put him ahead of legendary centers like Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Hakeem Olajuwon, whom many are comparing Embiid too. The Sixers have announced that Embiid’s minutes per game will increase from 24 minutes to 28, so expect his raw box score
Sixers fans are especially excited about Embiid, as the 76ers have been near the bottom of the NBA for the previous 3 seasons.Their previous General Manager, Sam Hinkie. who was fired during the offseason, is responsible for putting together a slew of young talent that features Dario Saric, age 22 Jahlil Okafor, 20, Nerlens Noel, 22 and this year’s number 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, 20.
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