15 best NBA moments from 2016
By Adam McGee
13. The Process in the flesh
After two years of Shirley Temples, rumors about his weight and long-term health, and brief glimpses of workout video gold, 2016 was the year when Joel Embiid finally took the court for an NBA game.
The introduction of any top draft pick is always anticipated, and even more so when it comes belatedly due to injury. In Embiid’s case there was something even greater to the excitement, though. Rarely, has a single player debuting been as closely tied to the sense of hope or optimism of an entire franchise as it was in the case of Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the years of struggle that were necessary for the Sixers to build up the collection of assets necessary for the path of rebuilding they were pursuing, top prospects often disappointed. As a result, the myth of Embiid grew in his absence and when it came time for him to play, the pressure was on for him to deliver.
After impressive flashes in preseason, Embiid made his regular season debut in a seven-point defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Cameroonian finished the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds, in spite of a minutes restriction holding him to just 22 minutes of action.
If the “Process” is to ultimately be proven worthwhile, it will be Embiid who will have to drag the Sixers back to relevance. If what he told Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins in one of the most memorable NBA pieces of the year is to be believed, Embiid may well be up to that challenge too.
"I think a lot about what I went through and how it prepared me to be a better man,” Embiid says. “I really feel like I’m The Process, like The Process is about me.”"