Joel Embiid is one of the most dominant big men in the NBA, when healthy. The Sixers’ center who missed the first two seasons of his career with injury, and most of his third, has emerged as a superstar and taken it upon himself to finish “The Process,” of which his being drafted while injured was a part of.
Embiid has battled a sore back and, most recently, an illness that has sapped his energy and effectiveness at the worst possible time for the Sixers. Heading into Game 6, Embiid is hoping to dig deep in order to find a spark that can extend the series back to Toronto, as he promised Drake would happen.
There are few big men as incredibly skilled as Embiid on both ends of the floor, with a fluidness to his game befitting of a guard rather than a 7’1 giant. At the same time, he can appear to be the clumsiest human in the arena at times, with how often he crashes to the floor, leaving Sixers fans holding their breath until he climbs back to his feet and trots back to the other end of the floor.
With Embiid’s injury history, it’s understandable why Sixers fans panic when he falls so often, but that’s by design. ESPN’s Chris Herring dove into Embiid’s unbelievable knack for falling down, finding he falls more than most any other big man in the league, and wanted to know why. As Embiid explained, it’s a way to prevent injury rather than a risk of injury, as he falls to avoid putting tremendous pressure on one of his legs.
“It was something I learned during my rehab when I was going through the foot injury, when I was trying to find ways to limit the impact on my body in 2014,” he says. “I was told that every time I feel like I’m in a situation where it’s going to be some type of extreme [weight] on my leg, I’ve got to dive or just roll onto the floor. So that’s why I do it.”
It makes sense, in that falling — if done correctly — will spread the impact of landing across Embiid’s massive frame, rather than placing stress on a foot or a knee, where he’s had problems in the past. That’s why when he trips or gets knocked off balance on a layup he willingly falls to the floor rather than trying to brace himself with a hard plant on one of his legs.
To this point, it’s worked in that Embiid may pick up bumps and bruises falling to the hardwood, but he seems to know how to land without hurting himself, even if it’s sometimes terrifying to watch. So, for Sixers fans that go into a panic when their star crashes to the ground, remember it’s all part of the process for Embiid.
