Joel Embiid Is Somehow Getting Even Better
Every year we keep saying that Joel Embiid can’t keep this up. At his size, and with his injury history, he has to regress eventually. And yet, the opposite seems to be true so far. He is actually getting better every year. Last year he had his best year yet. Good enough to win MVP and win his 2nd straight scoring title. But this year, he is somehow even better in nearly every statistical category.
He is scoring at a higher rate, grabbing more rebounds, dishing out more assists, and playing better defense to go along with it. Some questioned if he could keep it up without James Harden. But with Tyrese Maxey running the offense, Embiid has actually been better.
Some of that can be attributed to Maxey playing so well, and to Nick Nurse running a great scheme. But we also just have to give Embiid credit for consistently improving every season in his career. If he keeps this pace up, it would be the 5th straight season where his points per game went up. Even at 29, he continues to improve. He keeps adding new wrinkles to his game.
This is what Daryl Morey said about Joel Embiid when he joined The John Kincade Show this week
“For Joel, he loves adding things to his game. This year, because of the changes and because of all his offseason work and Nick Nurse and the new teammates, he’s coming to work excited that he’s showing more of his versatility. He’s really thriving in that, and it shows up on the defensive end too… He keeps surprising us and even playing better.”
To get nerdy for a second, there is a super villain in Marvel called Taskmaster whose power is that he can copy other people’s fighting styles. Embiid is essentially that for the NBA. He stole the Dream Shake from Hakeem Olajuwon, copied Dirk’s fadeaway, and even stole some of Kobe’s moves off the dribble. Embiid is constantly adding new wrinkles to his game. And it is part of why he keeps getting better.
Now he is on track to win 3 straight scoring titles. Joel Embiid keeps getting better. Fans may be a bit upset about the way things have gone in the playoffs. And that is more than fair. But even with that in mind, we need to appreciate the caliber of talent we have on the Sixers right now. Because he is a special player, who may not even be playing his best Basketball yet.
Listen To Or Watch ‘The Best Show Ever?’ Live On The 97.5 The Fanatic And On NBC Sports Philly From 2 To 6 p.m. every Weekday
The All-Time Roster Of NBA Players From Philadelphia
PG- Earl Monroe- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe has quite the NBA resume. Hall of Famer, 4-time All-Star, NBA Champion, a member of the 75th Anniversary Team, and Rookie of the Year, just to name a few of his accolades. He was more of a shooting guard, but you are not going to supplant the next guy as the team’s shooting guard. Instead, he moves over to Point Guard. Is he the ideal facilitator? No. But this team won’t exactly need that with the players they have. So instead you just get another elite scorer onto the court
SG- Kobe Bryant- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
When you think of Basketball players from Philly, you think of Kobe. He is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, and led his team to 5 NBA Finals wins. From coming up playing at Lower Merion, to dominating an entire era of the NBA, Kobe is a legend. He may have played his pro basketball in LA, but he will always be part of Philly too. As evident by how he celebrated the Eagles’ first Super Bowl.
PF- Rasheed Wallace- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We have lots of scoring on this team, so it’s time to also add some great defensive players. Wallace had a Defensive Rating of just over 100 in his career. Rudy Gobert had the lowest Defensive rating in the NBA last year at 103. It’s a different era with more scoring, but it goes to show the caliber of defense Wallace brought to the table. He was no slouch on offense either. He is the only player on this starting 5 that is not yet in the Hall of Fame. But he does have a decent case. And even if he never does make it, he is still a fantastic player and among the best Power Forwards of his era.
Bench- Richard “Rip” Hamilton- Coatsville, Pa
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Rasheed was not the only Philly representation on the Pistons team that won it all in 2004. Because Coatsville native Rip Hamilton was there too. For this team, he would bring scoring and shooting off the bench. Rip led all scorers for that Pistons team in the playoffs in 2004.
Bench- Kyle Lowry- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
We already talked about Kyle Lowry when we did the All-Time roster for active guys from the area. The difference is in this case you get Lowry in his prime. Lowry has made 6 All-Star teams, 1 All-NBA team, and won it all with the Raptors in 2019. Not a bad guy to have coming off of your bench.
Bench- Mikal Bridges- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Like with Lowry, we already talked about Bridges when we made the active team of guys from the area. He would bring All-NBA Caliber defense, and some scoring, off the bench. He was the star for the active team, but on a team of Hall of Famers here, he would be one hell of a role player.
Bench- Jameer Nelson- Chester, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We can’t talk Philly basketball and leave out St. Joe’s Jameer Nelson. In 2004 Nelson helped lead St Joes to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1981. He has a very strong case for being the best player in the school’s history. He went on to have a solid NBA career too, mostly playing with the Magic. He is not a Super Star or Hall of Famer like other guys on this list. But he is more than deserving of a place on the All-Time Philly team.
Bench- Aaron Mckie- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
You can’t make one of these lists and leave McKie off. Mckie may not have had as prolific of an NBA career as the rest of this team. But he was a solid player and won 6th Man of the Year. He was also a star while at Temple alongside Eddie Jones. And he has been around Philadelphia basketball longer than anyone else here. He played in College here, coached in College here, played in the pros, and coached in the pros here. How many other guys can say they did that in any Basketball city? That is deserving of the 11th roster spot.
