Joel Embiid is an MVP Candidate and It’s No Surprise

Joel Embiid, superstar center for the Philadelphia 76ers, is one of the most talented players in the NBA. At 26 years old, he has already made multiple All-Star appearances and All-NBA teams. This season, Joel took his game to a new level. He is averaging the most points of his career at 30.2 points per game and shooting the best field goal percentage of his career at 52.1 percent from the floor. Those statistics speak for themselves, but they should not let us forget about his truly remarkable journey to get to this point.

Embiid is from Cameroon and originally had aspirations of playing professional volleyball, but upon seeing legendary Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon play, he became interested in basketball in 2009. Embiid became interested in a basketball career. With this goal in mind, Embiid and his family decided to move to the United States so that he could pursue a career in professional basketball.

It wasn’t so easy at first for Embiid to get meaningful playing time. Having only begun to take basketball seriously at age 15, the young center lacked the fundamental skills that many other NBA hopefuls develop earlier in their youth. Despite lacking a polished skillset, Embiid was able to attend the prestigious Montverde Academy, a private school in Montverde, Florida that has produced noteworthy Division I and NBA talent, including Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell, RJ Barrett and more. Failing to earn his desired in-game minutes at Montverde, Embiid opted to transfer to a different school where he would be able to play and develop his game at the same time.

Embiid took his burgeoning talents to The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida, where basketball was still not an easy undertaking for the 7-footer. He started off as a junior varsity player and struggled with his timing and court awareness. He was not polished yet as a player, but he had good footwork, shot-blocking ability and a shooting touch that intrigued a number of coaches.

Having persevered through his initial developmental struggles, Embiid was able to dominate in his later high school years. Embiid’s success helped The Rock School win a state championship and earned the young center an opportunity to play college basketball with coach Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks.

This was an incredible moment for Embiid, and he would later highlight the difficulty of his journey in a 2016 interview with The Undefeated. Embiid’s struggle of “coming to the States, to sucking at basketball and getting scholarships,” as he described it, “was no easy trial”. That’s why it was such a relief for him to be noticed by an outstanding program in Kansas and coach in Bill Self. This opportunity brought Embiid one step closer to seeing his dream become a reality.

At Kansas, Embiid was able to earn the starting job as a freshman and had some incredible moments. He ended the season averaging 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game and was a reliable low-post scorer and defender because of his exceptional footwork and his shot-blocking ability.

Unfortunately, in 2014, the 7-foot up-and-comer suffered a stress fracture in his foot that left him sidelined for the entire NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Kansas was not able to get past the Round of 32, where they lost to a Stanford team featuring current Dallas Mavericks’ big man Dwight Powell. Despite his injury, Embiid’s intriguing offensive skill set and defensive prowess led the Philadelphia 76ers to select him with the third overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Even in the NBA, Embiid faced challenges that limited his ability to dominate opponents. The center was plagued with injuries that caused him to miss his first two seasons of play. Doctors had to surgically repair a navicular bone in his foot, an injury which causes many centers to lose a step in their agility upon returning to play. Embiid was turning into just another injury-prone big and getting comparisons to Greg Oden, another center whose career was affected by injuries soon after entering the league.

It was a time Embiid could have given up in the face of adversity, but instead, he regained his health and was ready to go for the 2016-2017 season. Despite a minutes restriction, Embiid still managed to average 20 points and 7.8 rebounds in only 25 minutes of play per game. His comeback was described as “trust[ing] the process” because Philadelphia was finally achieving some success for the first time in five years.

Embiid, along with 2017-2018 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons, was the key factor to that success. The Sixers made the postseason but came up short in the second round to the Boston Celtics. Embiid had a terrific season, averaging 22.9 points and 11 rebounds, but the Sixers were not able to get over the hump to become a serious contender. Embiid was still missing games due to back injuries, but his team had high expectations heading into the 2018-2019 season.

2018-2019 was a much better season for the 76ers, as Philly brought in star guard Jimmy Butler and forward Tobias Harris to pair with Embiid and Simmons. Although Embiid had his best season in the NBA to this point, the Sixers lost in seven games to Kawhi Leonard and the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors in the semifinals. The Sixers had made great progress, as they were only one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. A championship appeared within reach.

Despite his prior success, Embiid’s next campaign brought the star center a lot of criticism, as he had a down year in 2019-2020. He was out of shape, his relationship with head coach Brett Brown was not good and he was shooting more threes instead of dominating opposing bigs inside. The Sixers fell from finishing third in 2018-2019 to sixth in 2019-2020, and Jimmy Butler was traded away while J.J. Reddick signed with New Orleans, robbing the Sixers of two key veteran scorers.

As a result, Embiid had not taken the next step in his game. He had not led the Sixers into championship contention, as he was not asserting himself in the playoffs. Analysts and former players Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley criticized Embiid’s apparent lack of desire to be a force on the low block. ESPN’S Stephen A. Smith called for Brett Brown to be fired. Lacking a clear path forward, the Sixers seemed to be spiraling down the drain.

Embiid was the target of much of the criticism surrounding the 76ers, as he was one of the major question marks in the team’s championship aspirations. He was regarded as worse than star big men like Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and even Rudy Gobert. Coach Brett Brown was fired and Elton Brand was let go as general manager. What could possibly set the Sixers in the right direction?

The answer seems to be the hirings of former Houston Rockets General Manager Darryl Morrey, who had built a contender-level team in Houston from 2015-2020, and of coach Doc Rivers, who had the most wins as a coach in Los Angeles Clippers history and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.

Ultimately though, it was the transformation of Joel Embiid that made the on-court success occur. Embiid revived his inner desire to win, transforming himself into a front-runner to win the Most Valuable Player award for the 2020-2021 season. He is dominating with his unique skill set: amazing footwork, a feathery perimeter touch and a smooth handle of the basketball — all paired with exceptional defense. With his 40-point, 19-rebound game against the team with the NBA’s best record, the Utah Jazz, in a 131-123 win, Joel is now showing the doubters his real ceiling: the ability to fully dominate his opponents.

In an age of the NBA where stars are criticized for their lack of defense, Embiid has been highly effective on both ends of the court. The Sixers have the best record in the Eastern Conference. People seem surprised at Embiid’s development into an MVP candidate and All-Star starter this season. However, his unique skill set as a center and the sheer determination gained from overcoming the many obstacles in his life have left no doubt regarding about his transformation this season.

Now, the Sixers are in prime position to make an NBA Finals run. Embiid will need to continue his stellar play for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy to be returned to Philadelphia.

This was an incredible moment for Embiid, and he would later highlight the difficulty of his journey in a 2016 interview with The Undefeated. Embiid’s struggle of “coming to the States to sucking at basketball and getting scholarships,” as he described it, “was no easy trial. That’s why it was such a relief for him to be noticed by an outstanding program in Kansas and coach in Bill Self. This opportunity brought Embiid one step closer to seeing his dream become a reality.

Now, the Sixers are in prime position to make an NBA Finals run. Embiid will need to continue his stellar play for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy to be returned to Philadelphia.