Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the more interesting characters in the NBA. The 3-time all-star from Cameroon has been one of the supreme talents on the court, but his antics have rubbed people the wrong way.
He is a guy who likes to have fun on the floor, get into his opponent’s head with trash talk and have fun with the crowd. He is also very active on social media with his trash-talking posts, and it can be taken the wrong way. Some people say he’s not focused and that he needs to stop with all of the antics.
New teammate Dwight Howard had the same type of criticisms during his younger days with the Orlando Magic. He was the same type of jokester who tried to have fun on the floor. And he heard the same criticisms.
“I don’t see what he’s doing as being goofy,” Howard said of Embiid. “He puts in the work. I think people twist things around when they see people laughing, joking and having a good time. They say they’re not serious or they’re not focused. There’s a time and a place for everything. I think the things that Joel does is great. It makes other opponents upset, it keeps him locked in and the team plays well.”
Howard has been in the league for 16 seasons, so he has seen it all out on the basketball court. He is a guy who still likes to have his fun, but he also understands there is a time and a place for everything and that is what he will teach Embiid.
“Will there be times where we all have to be more serious? Yes and that’s something we will all have to learn together,” Howard explained. “How to be in certain situations, but I don’t think that’s a part of the sacrifice. I think that will be good for me to help some of the younger guys because I’ve been in that position before when people thought I wasn’t focused or I was playing too much. Maybe for the people outside, it did look like I was playing too much, so it’s just finding ways to do things right for the team and I think we’ll do that this year.”
The Sixers will certainly have high expectations and it will be on Howard to be the veteran leader as well as Embiid and Ben Simmons to lead the way when the season tips off on Dec. 22.
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