JOEL EMBIID’s rookie season was put on hold for years as he struggled through foot injuries and jokes at his expense. Finally healthy, he’s proven in a few short months on the court why he’s the franchise player the Sixers were searching for—and the kind of star personality Philadelphia loves.
Joel Embiid and Drew Hanlen drove together to the first regular season NBA game Joel played in. Embiid had been named a starter, but Hanlen, his personal trainer, warned him that it’s going to be a slow progression— Embiid would be on a 20-minute-pergame restriction to begin the year. Still, Embiid had lofty goals.
“He told me he was gonna average 20 points per game during the season,” Hanlen says now. “I said, Hey Jo, I believe when you’re healthy and when you’re playing you’re gonna be one of the best big guys in the NBA, but averaging a point a minute is absurd. Let’s just go out there and try to help your team win more games and continue to improve throughout this rookie season and get better.”
Embiid finished his first game with 20 points, playing 22 minutes while also grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 2 shots in a 103-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Hanlen found the 22-year-old big man shortly afterward.
“That was easy, bro,” Embiid told him. “I could’ve had 30.”
So began Embiid’s rookie campaign, a rollercoaster of a season that has—despite large periods of time spent on the sideline for both rest and injury reasons—established the Cameroonian as the front runner for Rookie of the Year. He’s averaging 20.2 ppg (perfectly on pace with his projection) along with 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. And the Sixers are, as of press time, 13-18 in games with him on the floor and 8-17 with him off it. It’s not a massive difference in winning percentage, but for a franchise so accustomed to the lowest depths of the standings, and previously so unsure what Joel would provide after sitting out two full seasons recovering from injuries before he ever formally donned an NBA jersey, the excitement Embiid has provided has ever-so-slightly awakened a long sleeping organization in desperate need of some fun energy.
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