The Philadelphia 76ers are still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA, remaining competitive even after Joel Embiid went down with an injury a couple of weeks ago. The big man is the best player on the team and the main reason why they were the leaders of the conference for several weeks.
Now he’s back and trying to return to his best level, which would be extremely beneficial for his team. That is what Sixers legend Julius Erving believes, given all the things that Embiid brings to the table for Philly and how well the team plays for him. Dr. J believes that if the Sixers aspire to win an NBA championship, they need to have Embiid at the highest level.
During a recent interview on Danny Green’s show, the legendary dunker said (14:35):
“Certainly, he is a team leader. Without him, even with the team having as much success as it has, I don’t think could get all the way to the mountaintop. Unless some other guys go down on other teams.”
“And you don’t want to bank on that. You want to go through the front door. You want to be at full strength. Getting him rested and healthy,” Erving said.
Before his injury, Embiid was competing for the 2021 NBA MVP award, going toe-to-toe with LeBron James. Both players were sidelined almost at the same time and that opened the race for more players. Still, JoJo must be focused on taking his team to the 1st spot in the East and then take them to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. The competition is hard but as long as they have the Cameroonian on the court, the Sixers will have a chance.
He’s the best player on the roster and if he keeps healthy this season, he could still make a run for the MVP award while leading the Sixers to have a deep run in the playoffs. Dr. J already tipped the Sixers to beat the Nets to come out of the East but they will need JoJo to get past that superteam.
