“Joel Embiid has had a career littered with ‘what-ifs’ and ‘almosts’ – with none of it being his fault”: Bill Simmons makes the case why the Sixers superstar has the strangest career in the modern NBA

According to analyst Bill Simmons, Philly big man Joel Embiid is having the weirdest career for any modern NBA superstar.

Joel Embiid has been unlucky with injuries early in his career. Sustaining multiple foot and knee injuries, Embiid made his debut 2 seasons after he was drafted, playing only 786 minutes in 31 games.

Of course, ever since, JoJo has developed into the global superstar he is today, consistently improving on several aspects of his game, season-by-season. No doubt, the Cameroonian big man has had a pretty peculiar career, so far.

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Recently, Bill Simmons spoke about the “incredibly weird career” of the 2021 MVP finalist. On his podcast, Simmons said:

 “How does someone reach their potential as a superstar while also giving us a career littered with what-ifs and almosts and holy sh*ts and why-did-that-have-to-happens? And how is almost none of this his fault? How did the NBA’s most overpowering player become its most sympathetic figure?”

“Joel Embiid played 786 minutes total in his first three seasons and he’s as reliable for 32 minutes a game as anyone in the league”: Bill Simmons

Bill then went on to talk about Embiid’s misfortune with his teammates and coaches throughout his career.

“Embiid, in year 8, is having the weirdest career for any modern NBA superstar. Played 786 minutes total his first three seasons and now he’s as reliable for 32 minutes a game as anyone in the league. He’s played with two All-Stars, one fled after a year and the other won’t play at all.

He played with three other top three picks: Simmons, Fultz, Okafor. None of them are on the 76ers right now. His best teammate right now is Curry, only it’s the wrong one. He’s had two coaches, one will never get hired again the other has blown more playoff series and game 7s than anyone ever.

His team’s best trade asset can’t really be traded unless there’s some luck. His team’s second-best trade asset is Tobias Harris, only he’s too expensive to fetch anything. His best chance for the Finals is the puncher’s chance of Brooklyn imploding this spring then Harden bullying his way to Philly….”

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This season too, Embiid is forced to play without the likes of the Sixers’ second All-Star – Ben Simmons. However, currently having a career-best season, averaging 28.9/10.7/4.3, he has been leading the 76ers to the 3rd best record in the East.

The Sixers front office should try to surround Joel with some serious talent who will be vital in helping the team make a title run. If not, it’ll be highly unfortunate to see Embiid be one of the many unlucky legends to never win a ring in their career.

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