Joel Embiid is one of the best players in the game today. He is a dominant center who can score at a high level as well as protect the rim on the defensive end. Currently, Joel Embiid is putting up 29.9 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 4.3 APG.
Despite the fact that Joel Embiid has developed into a bonafide superstar, he recently revealed that he once considered retiring in 2014, after his brother Arthur passed away. He was also injured during that time, with many people suggesting that he was a bust and that he was never going to play. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix relayed the words of Embiid, who notably stated that “people don’t understand the human side” when it comes to issues such as these.
In 2014, when Embiid was rehabbing with the Sixers, his 13-year old brother, Arthur, died after a runaway truck careened into a Cameroonian schoolyard. In the months that followed, Embiid considered moving back to Africa. Perhaps he’d play volleyball, a sport he excelled at as a teenager. Maybe handball, his father’s game. “I was in a bad place,” says Embiid. “And that’s when all the stories were coming out every single day. ‘Oh, Joel, he doesn’t want to work. He’s a bust. He’s never going to play.’ There was all this bad stuff. And then you add my loss.” Embiid’s voice trails off. “People don’t understand the human side of all of it,” he says. “But I never complain about it. We make a lot of money. [Criticism] comes with it.
There is no doubt that the NBA is better with Joel Embiid playing. He is an extremely entertaining player to watch, and some have described his playstyle as a mix between Kevin Durant and Hakeem Olajuwon.
The Philadelphia 76ers are competing for a title this season, and there is definitely a chance that they will get to the Finals and come out of the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid is crucial for their championship hopes, and he’ll need to continue playing at an MVP level for them to do well in the postseason.
