With 36 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, Joel Embiid was the best player for Team Durant, beaten by 50 points from Stephen Curry and the decisive shot from LeBron James.
It is by far his best performance since becoming an All-Star in 2018. His appearance in Cleveland was his fifth in a row for the All-Star Game, a feat when we remember that he did not play his two early years in the league, due to injuries and operations…
“It’s incredible and everything happened so quickly”commented the center of the Sixers at a press conference. “Ten or eleven years ago I started playing basketball and three years later I was in the NBA. My first three years, I didn’t really have a chance and then I had the opportunity to play, to show what I was capable of. Today, I am five times All-Star. It is a blessing. “
“I was close to giving up. It was hard, really very hard”
Besides, does Joel Embiid sometimes think back to his complicated beginnings when he is at the top, on an All-Star Game floor, among the best players in the world?
“Yes, it’s crazy. I had surgery in my early years, I lost my brother at that time as well. Coming back to Cameroon, I really thought about quitting playing basketball and retiring. There are surgeries and everyone says I’m not going to succeed, not be able to play in the NBA. The loss of my brother hurt me tremendously. We miss two seasons in a row, people say I weigh 300 pounds, the media shoots you down. I was close to giving up. It was hard, really very hard. “
The Philadelphia star finished last season in second place for the MVP trophy, behind Nikola Jokic. This year again, he is one of the favorites and with his history, in terms of injury (he was reduced during the 2021 playoffs), he could play with the handbrake. But this is not the case.
“I haven’t had a long-term injury for quite a while. So, even having almost missed my first three years, I never thought to take it easy, to avoid injury. I’m going to the floor and we’ll see. I do my job, I try, I do my best. I do my best to take care of myself but I can’t control it all. This season, I only really missed three matches, since otherwise I missed meetings because of the Covid-19. It wasn’t the injuries that stopped me from playing, only the management. Even with the All-Star Game coming up, I wanted to be on the court. I feel good. “
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 46 | 33 | 49.5 | 36.9 | 81.3 | 2.0 | 9.2 | 11.2 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 29.6 |
| Total | 306 | 31 | 48.8 | 33.5 | 80.9 | 2.3 | 9.0 | 11.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 25.6 | |
