If Joel Embiid is healthy, he has a chance to be the next great NBA Center

[IGOTGAME]

Look at what happened, you have a kid that just picked up a basketball and was raw and went to Kentucky with the Wiggins. When they arrived at UK, Wiggins was the #1 prospect in the country but after about a month everyone saw it....Embiid was developing at a pace that was almost inhuman and overtook him as the #1 prospect.

Then the foot injury. It has been sad to watch, but if it all turns out well it helped him develop a great work ethic. From all accounts, his diet and attitude are both now A+.

And now the kicker, you've given this insane talent 2 years to do nothing but watch tape and work, albeit not full speed, on skill work. This guy has been working on the fundamentals for two years straight, refining his form and developing his spots on the floor. If he is healthy, its going to be insane...as good as Simmons is, a healthy Joel Embiid is the best prospect since Kevin Durant.

[AirBonner]

I just hope we can get 5 years out of his career at this point.

[IGOTGAME]

I just hope we can get 5 years out of his career at this point.

I really want the kid to stay healthy. They have really taken their time with the foot and maybe they did enough where it will work out.

[T_L_P]

100% he does. I'm very skeptical though because he's really not played a lot of basketball compared to most NBA rookies/sophomores and he is already having issues.

[Akrazotile]

I feel similarly about his potential as an elite player if healthy. But two straight years with the same injury, at this age, is not a good sign. We'll see.

[Cap'n Obvious]

He hadn't been healthy for a season yet.

[senelcoolidge]

Remember he came out of college early and has been hurt. He's still a project.

[Uncle Drew]

Embiid had the potential to be the next Hakeem, but he'll never reach that level ever again. Big men with shot knees or broken feet won't have long careers, doubt he will ever be an All-Star.

[noob cake]

I don't see Embiid ever playing a full season in the NBA.

He has a history of back injury and foot injury. Those are the two worst types for a NBA big. He is listed at 250 but based on photos, he is probably closer to 280-300. The dude's contract is about to be up. Sixers are going to paying the max to a player who probably will be injured within half a season.

He has been sitting for TWO YEARS ffs!

[Bankaii]

He's going to be a long work in progress, to get him to the level he was projected to be at pre-injuries.
I do look forward to watching him develop with the rest of the young talent though.

Even if he does reach that high level, I hope the 76ers don't make him the franchise player because once a big man develops any leg area problems it become a consistent issue for the rest of their career.

[BlakFrankWhite]

I hope so

[death valley40]

I think you meant they went to Kansas, not kentucky

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

I think you meant they went to Kansas, not kentucky

Almost everything OP says is null'd

[RedBlackAttack]

If the question is prefaced with the assumption that he still moves like the guy that I saw at Kansas, the answer is an obvious yes. He's one of the single greatest bigman prospects I have ever seen. I thought he was easily the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft ahead of Wiggins and Parker.

All of those arguments I have made for him are pretty well established on this site. Huge reach/wingspan in an athletic frame and an uncanny skill level on both ends of the floor given his inexperience playing basketball, Embiid is all that and then some.

But, things are more complicated a couple years later. First and most importantly, his body seems to be breaking down despite the fact that he's not even playing highly competitive basketball. How the hell is he going to hold up playing against the power and speed of the NBA game and the grueling schedule that it entails?

The other thing is, even if he comes back and is able to handle the workload, how much damage has already been done? Does he still look and move like that kid at Kansas?

I've been one of Embiid's biggest proponents on this board, but hypotheticals can only take you so far. At some point, I need to see him on an NBA basketball court to believe he's capable of someday living up to his ceiling (which is/was really, really high).

[FireDavidKahn]

KAT is already the NBA's next great center.