Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar....
...Joel Embiid? New 76ers president Daryl Morey seems to think the Sixers' star center could appear on that list of the NBA's all-time great big men one day.
"Joel is similar to lots of dominant big men in the past," Morey told John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, "and I think he frankly has the talent level to be in the list of some of the best of all time."
It's high praise for the undeniably talented fifth-year veteran (seventh-year if you count two seasons he missed with a foot injury), who seems to be getting to know the team's new president fairly well.
Through four years of his career, Embiid's statistical output has been nothing short of incredible. He is one of five players — three of which are big men — to post a stat line of at least 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game over the first four seasons of their career (via Stathead).
| Crit | Crit | Crit | Crit | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | Tm | AST | PTS | TRB | WS |
| 1 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1970 | 1973 | MIL | 4.2 | 31.4 | 15.8 | 83.3 |
| 2 | George Mikan | 1949 | 1952 | MNL | 3.1 | 27.0 | 13.8 | 79.8 |
| 3 | Oscar Robertson | 1961 | 1964 | CIN | 10.4 | 30.2 | 10.7 | 66.3 |
| 4 | Elgin Baylor | 1959 | 1962 | TOT | 4.3 | 31.4 | 17.4 | 44.1 |
| 5 | Sidney Wicks | 1972 | 1975 | POR | 4.4 | 23.1 | 10.6 | 23.1 |
| 6 | Joel Embiid | 2017 | 2020 | PHI | 3.1 | 23.9 | 11.5 | 22.8 |
Of course, his win shares compared to those above dictate that his performances haven't resulted in the 76ers becoming a downright dominant team as was the case with some of the above players, but with new head coach Doc Rivers joining forces with Morey, the sky's the limit for this Sixers team.
The 76ers drafted Embiid to be the dominant big man that Morey is hyping him up to be, using the third overall pick on the Kansas alum and sacrificing two years while he recovered from injury. Health and durability remain question marks for Embiid, but his ability to command a game when playing at full strength is a skill rarely seen in today's NBA, especially from the center position.
Various scouting websites provided Embiid with pro comparisons that would support Morey's claim of all-time talent. NBADraft.net, for instance, compared him to Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon. Comparing these three players' per game statistics in the four seasons from ages 22 to 25 reveals that they have produced quite similarly:
| Rk | Player | From | To | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Duncan* | 1999 | 2002 | 288 | 288 | 39.4 | 8.7 | 17.5 | .499 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .182 | 8.7 | 17.3 | .502 | .500 | 5.8 | 8.1 | .721 | 3.3 | 9.0 | 12.3 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 23.3 |
| 2 | Joel Embiid | 2017 | 2020 | 209 | 209 | 30.4 | 8.0 | 16.7 | .480 | 1.1 | 3.6 | .319 | 6.9 | 13.1 | .524 | .514 | 6.8 | 8.6 | .793 | 2.4 | 9.1 | 11.5 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 23.9 |
| 3 | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 1985 | 1988 | 304 | 304 | 36.1 | 8.9 | 17.0 | .521 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .111 | 8.8 | 17.0 | .522 | .521 | 4.8 | 7.3 | .664 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 11.8 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 22.5 |
Honing in on per 36 stats show that Embiid produces more on the offensive end than the others on a per minute basis, though defensively, he falls short:
| Rk | Player | From | To | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ORtg | DRtg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Duncan* | 1999 | 2002 | 288 | 288 | 11341 | 11.8 | 23.7 | .499 | 0.0 | 0.3 | .182 | 11.8 | 23.5 | .502 | 7.9 | 10.9 | .721 | 4.5 | 12.2 | 16.6 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 31.6 | 109 | 94 | |
| 2 | Joel Embiid | 2017 | 2020 | 209 | 209 | 6358 | 12.6 | 26.3 | .480 | 1.8 | 5.6 | .319 | 10.8 | 20.7 | .524 | 10.7 | 13.5 | .793 | 3.8 | 14.3 | 18.1 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 37.8 | 110 | 103 | |
| 3 | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 1985 | 1988 | 304 | 304 | 10966 | 11.6 | 22.2 | .521 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .111 | 11.6 | 22.2 | .522 | 6.3 | 9.5 | .664 | 6.0 | 9.4 | 15.4 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 29.4 | 111 | 100 |
In terms of analytic measurements, including Win Shares and Value Over Replacement Player, Embiid trails Duncan and Olajuwon significantly. However, with new (and hopefully improved) coaching and a strategy through which Embiid can play at peak effectiveness and efficiency, his amazing counting numbers may be able to manifest more team success going forward.
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