The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at 19-16 and they are coming off a 3-0 road trip thanks to the elite play of Joel Embiid.
The big fella had himself a terrific road trip averaging 35.3 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 60.7% from the floor and 53.8% from deep. He is doing things on the road for this franchise that they haven’t seen since the days of Wilt Chamberlain as he continues to take steps forward.
Embiid is on his way to becoming one of the elite players in the league as he is continuing to take steps forward both on the floor and off of it in terms of his leadership. He has the attention of his teammates, including offseason acquisition Georges Niang.
“I don’t know where to begin,” Niang marveled. “He’s been a monster punishing guys in the post, making 3s, making contested jump shots as you saw in Boston. I think he’s really taking it upon himself to continue to grow as a basketball player, but continue to grow as a leader. I think that’s the next step for Joel.”
As mentioned, Embiid is already one of the more talented players, but in order to take that next step into the elite, he has got to be the leader of this team and demand more. That is something Niang is continuing to see growth from him.
“Joel can go out and score as many points as he wants, but it’s the little things,” he continued. “It’s getting the other four guys with him on the court to do what they need to do to help win games. I think Joel’s growth as a leader is gonna do great things for his career, but great for the people around him and the team that he’s on.”
The Sixers have a chance to do a lot of big things while Embiid is upright and healthy. In order to do so, they need him to continue making these huge strides.
“I’m lucky enough to be on his team,” Niang finished. “He’s molding into a top 5 player, top 3 player in the NBA.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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