Joel Embiid played well in his first All-Star Game appearance, racking up 19 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. His Team Steph lost to Team LeBron, but the winning and losing never really matters in the All-Star Game anyway, does it?
The point is that Embiid, after a stunted start to his career, truly has had an All-Star season and has emerged as one of the most dominant young forwards in the NBA. For all the buzz he gets on social media and by beefing or cracking jokes, his play this season has been the true highlight. And he’s claimed to have taken advantage of the All-Star experience over the weekend.
Embiid said he learned “how to be a pro” at All-Star weekend, and he was earnest about his desire to match up against the game’s best players.
“During the whole season I kind of thought that I was a top five, top 10 player in the league and coming in here in the game I wanted confirmation of it and I felt like I can hang with them,” Embiid said. “But I had a lot of fun.”
So how does The Process stack up? Well, there might not be a more striking comparison than this photo from the game on Sunday night.
It’s a striking image, Embiid going up for a basketball while LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Paul George watch helpless. Look at Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry, too! These are the biggest names in the sport, all in the same frame, one that Embiid is dominating.
On Saturday, Kevin Durant predicted that Embiid would take over the league once he retires. It was a goodwill gesture made to end a quote, but it’s not empty praise. Embiid, finally healthy Joel Embiid, is taking his place among the stars of the NBA. It’s been a long time coming, and the goals are far from being competitive in an All-Star Game, but you have to feel like Embiid is finally putting it all together in 2018.
