Joel Embiid‘s entire NBA career can be summarized in one line, from being a rookie player who almost had his career ended by a broken navicular bone to reaching a point of highest scoring average this season for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers selected Embiid as the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. After that, he missed the following two full seasons due to his recovery from surgery, which disrupted the estimation in the meantime and put the player in a critical condition to be fully fit again and play basketball.
But Joel overcame the setback, returned stronger than ever, and pushed himself to the highest level of performance in NBA history. His last game against the Denver Nuggets wasn’t any exception in rewriting the history for Joel Embiid.
How was Joel Embiid’s performance for the 76ers last night?
In a clutch second half, the Sixers won the game in a dramatic comeback, similar to the center’s life, with all credit going to the 7-foot tall center. He contributed with a massive 47 points and a league-best 18 rebounds, blowing out the 15-point deficit in the first half.
But that’s only half the story; Joel added five assists, three steals, and two blocks to round out an outstanding performance from a center. The last time we saw such a dominant performance was from Shaquille O’Neal, who the 28-year-old appears to be imitating.
47 PTS | 18 REB | 5 AST | 3 STL | 2 BLK
we're glad @JoelEmbiid starts for us.
🎥 presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/1TJq971Kce
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 28, 2023
Shaq set an NBA record by scoring 40 points and grabbing 10 rebounds 43 times, and Joel has already racked up 33 40-10 hauls in his seventh season.
Which other records are held by the 76ers’ Joel Embiid?
There are several other records also held by the Cameroonian, as we already mentioned the best scoring average (33.8) in the running season along with the best scoring average (36.6) by any athlete from the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference teams.
The 76ers are on a seven-game winning streak, which keeps them as the second seed in the conference. Sixers fans can recall Chris Webber and Bob McAdoo, who each contributed 50+ points, 20+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 3+ steals, and two blocks.
47 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks, all-time.@JoelEmbiid joins those pictured. pic.twitter.com/hQpYW3VblD
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) January 28, 2023
With last night’s stupendous performance, the five-time NBA all-star shared a prestigious podium with HOF Wilt Chamberlain by scoring in four games with 45+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in the 76ers’ history.
We would be dog-tired if we went on a Joel Embiid-style wild career that annihilated the opponent in both offense and defense. The NBA scoring champion scored on average 33.4 points with 9.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game this season.
There are still many games left to play in the season. Do you think Joel Embiid will become an NBA phenomenon at the end of the season? Or at least in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers, he could be a shining star if he continues like this. Leave us your prediction in the comments.
