As his Sixers ride a 4-game win streak, Joel Embiid recently reflected on his NBA journey so far.
As he told the media after Wednesday’s win, his career has been one hell of a ride, with many highs and lows along the way.
“I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been through a lot. Whether it is you talk about freaking GMs using burner accounts, talking trash on their players. I’ve always thought I’d have one coach for the rest of my career. Obviously, that changed. I’ve seen so many players. I remember my first two or three years, we had probably over 80 players in one year. Just guys coming in, guys getting cut. It’s hard. It’s hard to keep that culture.
I wouldn’t say it’s all about me. Obviously, I’ve been here the longest. I’ve been lucky enough to keep going through trade deadlines and not getting traded. But it’s not about me. We got a bunch of great people working behind the scenes. Whether it’s staff or guys in the arena.”
Awesome answer from Joel Embiid on the Sixers' culture, his long journey to where this team is right now… oh, and burner accounts 😂 pic.twitter.com/bzKqQHdRQz
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 3, 2022
Indeed, it has been quite a journey for the 5x All-Star. After being drafted 3rd overall in 2014, he would miss the next two seasons working his way back from major foot surgery.
Through those years, and Embiid’s rookie season, the Sixers were among the worst teams in basketball and made a show of tanking for the sake of acquiring additional assets.
When Embiid emerged as a true NBA superstar, the 76ers emerged as a legitimate threat and the Joel/Simmons duo became a force that instilled fear in the Eastern Conference.
Then there was the Brian Colangelo saga, which involved the team’s former GM blasting his own players through a burner account on Twitter.
Sadly, things only got worse before they got better. The Simmons era was headlined by playoff heartbreaks and it all came to a head over the summer, when Ben demanded a trade from the franchise he was drafted to. For a while there, Embiid was caught in the middle of a major battle, and many questions surfaced about the future.
But now, the Sixers are in a whole new state of mind and it’s hard to say the situation could be much better. The drama is over, Embiid has a co-star he fits well with, and the Sixers are looking like a real threat to win the East.
It looks like all the patience and hard work is finally starting to pay off for Embiid.
