After a two-year delay, Joel Embiid impressed in his NBA debut last night. The 22-year-old center put up 20 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in just over 22 minutes of action as the Philadelphia 76ers came inches from defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a promising debut for both Embiid and the team as a whole, especially given the remarkably low standards that Sixers fans must hold for their team at this point.
Billy Donovan, head coach of the Thunder, highly praised Embiid after the game, comparing him to one of the greatest centers of all time, Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon. From Keith Pompey of Philly.com:
“He’s hard to guard,” OKC coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s herky-jerky. He’s got a lot of [Hakeem] Olajuwon in him.”
As NBA fans, we have long awaited this moment. We watched his highlights with bated breath, hoping but not counting on his eventual arrival to the NBA. Joel Embiid is in the NBA. He is a starting center on a professional basketball team. He is drawing comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon. This is something for which many fans — myself included — didn’t get our hopes up. We’ve been fooled before. Salivating over talent that never comes to fruition is one of the most heartbreaking moments in sports. Greg Oden taught us not to trust oft-injured big men. Here’s to hoping that Embiid teaches us how to trust again. Joel Embiid: Worth the wait. *Knocks on wood like a thousand times.*
