Joel Embiid put on a show during his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers. The big man out of Kansas made his long-awaited NBA regular season debut during the Sixers opening night contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ‘The Process‘ did not disappoint.
He came out gunning early on, his first career shot attempt was a three-pointer but after that, he went to work. His first NBA field goal was a nice drive, ‘dream shake’ and fadeaway jumper over Andre Roberson and he proceeded to go right down the court and reject a Russell Westbrook layup. Embiid even got a little amped when he was fouled by Steven Adams and declared “he can’t guard me!”
While Embiid is facing a minutes restriction to begin his career and also may not play in back-to-backs this season, he still made the most of his time. Jojo scored 20 points in 22 minutes of action while also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking two shots. He even showed off his three-point range during the game.
Philadelphia was hyped last night. While the evening didn’t get off to a great start with Sevyn Streeter being unable to perform the national anthem due to a wardrobe issue, they still were amped in Philadelphia. A fan flipped off Russell Westbrook, Desiigner performed at halftime (much to the Philly fans displeasure) and the fans chanted ‘MVP’ and ‘Trust the Process’ as Embiid shot free throws.
Everyone finally got to see Sam Hinkie’s process begin to show signs of success. Philadelphia might have lost but it can only go up from here for the 76ers and their fans.