Joel Embiid is arguably among the best big men in the league, along with Nikola Jokic. In an era where centers have lost their value, NBA fanatics still regard him as one of the best players in the league. He can dominate the paint on both ends of the floor. Hence, his team went into the 2019-20 season as one of the title contenders.

However, the Philadelphia 76ers fell short of expectations, and the Cameroonian has paid the full price of it. Despite averaging 23 points and 11.6 rebounds with 1.3 Blocks, he was not voted to any All-NBA teams. “When you consider the top 10 NBA players, when you’re up there and not make an All-NBA Team, that just shows you a lot… Just thinking about it, I was extremely disappointed because I didn’t get the respect that I deserve.”

Joel Embiid realizes the importance of ‘Winning’

Winning is a crucial aspect of the NBA. For one, a player never truly gets the respect if he does not win the NBA Championship- just ask Charles Barkley! Hence, Embiid knows that he needs to win with his team to get the respect that he thinks he deserves. About winning, he said –

“Everybody that knows me knows that I care a lot about winning. These guys do. That’s why I’ve been here because they see it every day, the way I carry myself, and the way I work, the things I care about. The other part, individual awards. It was tough.

“You got to be able to win, so that’s where it starts; you got to win. If you don’t win, you’re not going to get that respect. So that’s all I care about because, at the end of the day, when you win, everybody else wins. Everybody gets contracts, everybody gets awards, and all that stuff, so I’ve always said that’s where I think it starts.”

If he needs to get his hands on the prestigious Larry O’Brien Trophy, he needs to pull up his socks. Philly need to sort out their shortcomings. Hiring premier coach Doc Rivers and Analytics guru Daryl Morey will go a long way in overcoming them. Hopefully, he can vindicate fan’s trust in the process.