Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the elite talents in the league. There isn’t a lot that the big fella can’t do on the floor as he is able to score the basketball at all three levels. He can shoot from deep, the mid-range, and he can get inside and finish as well.
After leading the league in scoring in the 2021-22 season, Embiid is at it again to begin the 2022-23 season as he is averaging 33.3 points on 53.8% shooting and he’s also averaging 9.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. The big fella is once again throwing his hat into the MVP race and he is ready to lead the Sixers on a title run.
The Ringer put together a list of the top 100 players in the NBA to start the new season and Embiid came in ranked 7th on the list behind Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum who’s ranked 6th and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant at No. 5 on the list.
The Ringer on Embiid:
Embiid does everything you’d expect a player with a 7-foot, 280-pound frame to do on offense. He can pulverize opponents in the post, backing defenders underneath the rim before finishing loudly. He can cut. He can crash the boards. He can screen and roll. He adds something new to his game every year, and he has turned himself into a perennial MVP candidate. He’s added one post move after another: drop-steps. Fadeaways. Face-up rip-throughs. Hook shots. And he’s managed to apply his interior footwork to the perimeter, with hang dribbles out of drives to the basket, stepbacks from the elbows, and pump fakes to get into his pull-up. Embiid is as fluid as a player can get at his size. He’s like a wing in a big body.
It is interesting to see that Embiid only ranks 7th on the list. There are a ton of talented players in this league, that much is certain, but there also aren’t many players who can do what the big fella does on a nightly basis at his size. Maybe he just has to win the MVP award in order to really move up in these rankings.
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