While both Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker have been named as potential No. 1 picks in the 2014 NBA Draft, it appears as if Joel Embiid is emerging as the favorite between the three players.
Despite a stress fracture that is of understandable concerns to interested teams, Embiid’s talent appears too great to pass upon. That’s the thought of many front office executives and GM’s around the league, who expressed to Forbes.com the rise of Embiid as the NBA’s June draft approaches.
"If there’s no consensus No. 1 pick in the press, one super prospect emerged in the minds of the NBA people I talked to. That was Embiid, the 7-0, 250-pound (as listed by Kansas) freshman who started around No. 5 on sheer size and raw potential and realized enough of it to to rocket to No. 1 in mid-season when a GM told me, “His ceiling is Hakeem Olajuwon. His basement is Serge Ibaka.”"
Teams will delving through Embiid’s medical records with a fine tooth comb during the next few weeks, though stress fractures aren’t exactly easy to predict. It’s possible Embiid will never have another problem or it’s possible it could become problematic, especially since he already suffered a similar injury in high school.
On talent alone though? It appears as if many around the league love the upside of the former Kansas star.