Joel Embiid Reveals How Andrew Wiggins Being Labelled as the “Next LeBron” Helped His Own Career

Published 03/31/2022, 10:24 PM EDT

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the top teams in the league this season. While the Harden trade has sure helped, the main reason has been a career season for Joel Embiid. As one of the top candidates to win MVP, he has quickly become one of the best players in the league.

With all the weapons in his armory, Embiid is working his way through the ranks. However, according to the big man, most of his success comes because of former number 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins came in as the hottest prospect in the 2014 NBA draft. Unsurprisingly, the forward went number 1 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But unlike Embiid, Wiggins took his time to find his true game.

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This season, he played some of the best basketball of his career and even earned his first All-Star appearance. But he helped Embiid get some spark as they competed for the same college team.

Embiid spoke about how Wiggins attracted all the attention, which landed the Sixers star in the spotlight as well.

Joel Embiid has Andrew Wiggins to thank

Embiid and Andrew Wiggins were both teammates at Kansas. Surprisingly, Wiggins had the spotlight as he was deemed the next LeBron James. This brought attention to their practices as NBA scouts showed up to check up on his potential. This indirectly helped Embiid, who was able to put himself out there. He expressed he is always grateful to Wiggins for coming in with that hype.

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He said, “I’m always thankful for Wiggins. Going to college, he had so much hype, they were like, ‘He’s the next LeBron.’ I used that to my advantage. We had so many scouts to watch our practices. If he didn’t have all that hype, I don’t know where I could have ended up.”

As teammates, the duo went 25-10 in their time together. Likewise, Wiggins was the leading scorer with 17 points per game. Embiid wasn’t far behind as he ranked 3rd with 11 points and 8 rebounds per game. They continued this pattern in the draft as Embiid went third overall to the Sixers. Since then, Joel has made his own hype.

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Over the past few seasons, Joel Embiid has emerged as an MVP candidate. Making a strong case each year, this season is no different. The Sixers center is putting up 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists on one of the top teams in the NBA. With his potential only still growing, do you think Embiid will win the MVP trophy this season? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Anuj Talwalkar is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He is a student studying at NM College in Mumbai, aspiring to pursue sports management to follow his love for sports. Anuj started following the NBA last year, and he loves to combine his passion for writing with his understanding of basketball.

Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima

Joel Embiid Reveals How Andrew Wiggins Being Labelled as the “Next LeBron” Helped His Own Career

Joel Embiid has Andrew Wiggins to thank

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