Tyrese Maxey was a guest on Paul George‘s ‘Podcast P’. The two spoke about Joel Embiid‘s style of play. Maxey noted that Embiid decides which legendary player he wants to play like ahead of the game, like Shaquille O’Neal or Dirk Nowitzki. But on other days, he chooses to play as himself, and it leads to dominant scoring performances.
“When Joel is on the court, you’re so open sometimes. It feels wrong. Like P [George] He shoots 41% from three… When he plays with big fella, they have to trap him, they have to triple-team him. It’s gonna be times next year, he’s gonna catch the ball and be like, ‘Bro, why am I so open?’…”
“Joel has really grown as a player and leader since I’ve been there. He’s going out there, he’s showing love, his motivating his teammates. Joel motivates his teammates in different ways, he tells me I suck when I’m not playing great… I need that… He’s had some special ones since I’ve been there. He had 70 last year in 34 m minutes.”
“We played Utah. I think this was my third year. He had 60 points, 18 rebounds, 7 blocks, 9 assists, game-winner. He was just so dominant man. He’ll say, ‘I’m going to be Dirk today,’ and go out and dominate the game just shooting all fadeaways.”
“Or, ‘I’m going to be Shaq today,’ and dominate the game in the post. I remember one time I asked him, ‘Who are you going to be today?’ And he said, ‘I’m going to be Joel Embiid.’ That’s when he had the 59. I was like ‘This man is unbelievable.”
Embiid told Maxey he’d play like Dirk one game & then Shaq the next…
And did just that. NEXT LEVEL 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/lZY0b67rCP
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 29, 2024
Joel Embiid is one of the best and most dominant scorers in the NBA today. While some fans don’t appreciate his style of play, with complaints about his over-reliance on free throws and getting fouled, there is no denying the talented big man Embiid has transformed into since entering the NBA.
Embiid Struggles With Team USA
Joel Embiid didn’t have the best first outing with Team USA at the Olympics. Embiid was visibly struggling in the opener against Serbia, putting up just 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block in 11 minutes. Kerr brought Embiid out of the game and replaced him with Anthony Davis, who played much better than him.
Embiid ended the game as the only player on Team USA with a negative plus-minus, finishing with -1 in the plus-minus column. He will hope to have a better game against South Sudan, but there are questions being asked about whether he will start the game or come off the bench.
Ahead of the Olympics, Steve Kerr named Embiid as one of the guaranteed starters along with LeBron James and Stephen Curry. But it may be time for Kerr to reconsider his stance, as Embiid’s poor performance combined with AD’s solid showing turned a lot of heads.
Embiid will get the chance to redeem himself tomorrow, as Team USA takes on South Sudan. A big performance against them could cement his place as a starter on the squad.
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