MILWAUKEE, WIS–Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid is once again having himself a terrific season. The big fella has thrown the Sixers on his back, which is a huge deal considering the circumstances that were placed upon the team, and he has taken his game to another level.
At 7-feet tall, Embiid has been doing things only guards really do out on the floor. He is taking defenders off the dribble from the 3-point line and finishing at the basket, he is knocking down stepback triples, he is knocking down fadeaway jumpers like Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant, it is just so easy for him.
“I think it’s a mix of a lot of things,” said Embiid. “Obviously, I didn’t start playing until I was 16-years old so I didn’t have any bad habits and I didn’t grow up in America where I was just told they had to use me on the block. From the first day I started playing basketball, the first tape that was showed to me was Hakeem (Olajuwon). They had Hakeem, they had Pat Ewing, Dirk on it, so my first move was actually catching the ball on the block, dropping, and spinning into a Dirk fadeaway.”
When Embiid came to America to play at Kansas, he was met with some pushback from coaches about what he can do out on the floor. The big men were supposed to just be on the block, but Embiid wanted more.
“Obviously, getting to the states at the beginning, it was a little different,” he explained. “I was more used as a big man, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to—obviously Kobe was the reason why I started watching basketball so that was the guy I always looked up to. I always wanted to play like him.”
While in college, he was discouraged to do anything more than work on the low block, Kansas coach Bill Self had practices where only Embiid and Andrew Wiggins could shoot. Therefore, Embiid saw an opportunity to add to his game.
“You look at Kansas, I was used as a big man, but outside of it, I was still working on my game trying to add everything else to my game,” he explained. “I think in practice at Kansas, what helped me a lot was we used to go through practices where coach Self would be like ‘Joel and Wiggs are the only ones who can shoot the ball’. That put me in a position where it was like if I’m the only one who can shoot the ball, I gotta show a bunch of stuff so that’s where I started feeling comfortable.”
As his freshman year with the Jayhawks continued, Embiid wanted to continue adding to his game in that way. Not just be a big man, but be a complete basketball player. Then, being drafted to the Sixers, helped as well.
“Every single game at Kansas, I just kept showing something new,” he added. “Obviously, getting to the league is a little different because you get more freedom, but you gotta show it. You also gotta be lucky because if I was on a winning team, I don’t think I would have the opportunity to work on it and make mistakes and allowed to make mistakes and learn from it. I’m just thankful I was drafted where I can make mistakes and just do it. Like I said, it goes back to Kobe. I’ve always wanted to play like him.”
That is why Embiid dropping 42 points, as he did on Thursday in a road win over the Milwaukee Bucks, is nothing new anymore. The guy is just improving at a rapid pace.
“At times, I know when to be a big man, but most of the time in the new NBA, they triple-team me every single possession so that’s where you gotta add something else to your game,” he finished. “You gotta go to something else, you gotta go to something else, you gotta go to the nail and handle the ball, you see in transition to be able to score the ball and make plays for your teammates.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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