Can you hear that distant rumbling, off in the distance? That’s the awakening of the Sixers fanbase. Sure, there was a sizable contingent of “Trust the Process” zealots who will eagerly remind you they stuck it out through the dark days, but on a larger scale, we’re about to see an awakening in the force generated by Joel Embiid. The noise of his hype is reaching a fever pitch, based both on his talent (prodigious, potentially historic) and his personality (ebullient, social media savvy).
Embiid’s a star in the making, is what we’re trying to say, but in order to fulfill all that promise, he needs to produce on the court. Though it’s preseason, Embiid went to work on honest-to-goodness NBA big men Andre Drummond and Boban Marjanovic and showed off an adept sense of positioning in the post, coming away with the highlight reel you see above. He showed consistent ability to get deep post position for easy shots on offense, and a sneaky sense of circumventing box-outs to get rebounds on both sides. He also sprinkled in a silky pass for good measure.
Embiid will probably take a while to feel comfortable popping for three-point shots, but if he looks like this when the games count, watch out.
