Written by Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton at ESPN.com
Kevin Pelton: Chad, we talked briefly about Joel Embiid in our recent Rookie of the Year discussion, with both of us declaring him the favorite for the award. But Embiid’s fascinating — and long-awaited — NBA debut deserves more discussion than that, with an eye toward his long-term potential rather than what he’ll continue to do the remainder of this season.
Let’s start with a comparison to the last time we saw Embiid in game action, way back in March 2014, before a back injury ended his lone season at Kansas. You were keeping a close eye on the Jayhawks, who had both Embiid and eventual No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins on the roster. How similar is what you’re seeing from him now, and how has he changed over the last two and a half years?
Chad Ford: Well, before he hurt his back (ending his freshman season at Kansas prematurely) and then breaking his navicular bone in his foot during a workout with the Cavs, Embiid was the No. 1 prospect on our Big Board and was drawing comparisons from scouts to a young Hakeem Olajuwon.
He had elite size, was a fluid athlete, could score in the paint and on the perimeter and was an excellent shot blocker and rebounder. Turnovers, a tendency toward foul trouble and a lack of experience and strength were the only real concerns beyond the injuries.
So what are we seeing this season? Everything we loved about Embiid before the draft. In fact, in most ways he looks seriously improved in his strengths despite having not played basketball for two years.
He’s now much, much stronger. He’s on a playing-time restriction, but he is scoring more than 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds per 36 minutes of action. He’s shooting the ball comfortably from NBA 3-point range (in fact, he leads the league in 3-point shooting percentage at this early stage). He’s second in the league in blocked shots per game.
So really only his lack of experience, which translates into a high turnover rate, questionable shot selection and excessive fouling, is holding him back.
Now that he’s finally back, this really seems like a best-case scenario for the Sixers. He’s exactly what they’d hope he could be.
Do the numbers tell the same story, compared to what we saw at Kansas in that limited sample size?
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