Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid can do a lot of different things out on the floor. For being a guy at 7-feet tall, the big fella can be a dominant player in the post, he can knock down triples, and he can also handle the ball and go coast-to-coast.
After dropping 50 points on 17-for-23 shooting in a 123-110 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, the big fella was asked by Tyrese Maxey before the game who he would be: Shaquill O’Neal or Dirk Nowitzki.
Embiid answered with a simple answer.
“It was amazing to watch,” said Maxey. “I was messing with him before the game about who was he gonna be tonight. Shaq, Dirk? Because he can do everything. He was like ‘I’m gonna be Joel’. I was like ‘OK, you go be Joel then’ and that’s what he did.”
Embiid then expanded on that answer and he added some other great players to add to that list.
“I said me because at times, whenever I want, I’m able to be Shaq and whenever I want, I’m also able to be Dirk or Kobe (Bryant) or MJ (Michael Jordan) or any guards, really,” Embiid explained. “Shooting off the dribble or pull-ups or ball-handling, just a combination of everything offensively so I was OK tonight.”
This does come after Embiid posted on Instagram a video of him copying both Bryant and Jordan with their movies.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CY4wOY2vwHg/
To truly be considered as one of the great players in the game, however, Embiid understands that he needs to be able to win on every level. He has to win individual awards and titles.
“You gotta win,” Embiid added. “Obviously, talent-wise, there’s no question, but it always goes back to winning if you wanna be considered one of the best. You gotta show something. You gotta win championships, MVPs, Defensive Player of the Year, that’s always been my goal.”
At this point, Embiid understands that he has to win in order to get the job done.
“I’m always gonna try to do everything possible to try to win,” the big fella added. “If it doesn’t happen, at least I tried, but every single day, my focus is always on winning, and to be in that conversation, I’ve gotta win.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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