Fansided

Why Joel Embiid should have made the 2017 NBA All-Star team

By Bryan Toporek

Jan 20, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) congratulates Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 93-92. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) congratulates Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 93-92. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Joel Embiid
Jan 18, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts as fans chant his name after a score against the Toronto Raptors during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

He’s putting up historic numbers as a rookie

Embiid likely missed out on an All-Star berth because he’s been playing under a strict minutes limit as he works his way back from consecutive foot surgeries that sidelined him for his first two professional seasons. Despite those restrictions, the Kansas product is putting up All-Star-caliber numbers, having averaged 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 assists in just 25.3 minutes across his first 30 games.

If Embiid sustains those averages throughout the remainder of the 2016-17 campaign, he’d become just the second rookie in NBA history—joining future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan—to do so. Prior to this season, only five first-year players in league history averaged at least 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, and none of them hit a single 3-pointer during those debut campaigns. Embiid, meanwhile, has already knocked down 32 triples. If New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t beat him to it, the Sixers big man could become the first-ever player to hit 100 treys and block 100 shots within the same season.

When evaluating Embiid’s per-36-minute averages—28.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, 2.9 assists, 1.5 three-pointers and 1.1 steals—he joins even more rarefied company. The only rookie in NBA history to ever accomplish that feat prior to Embiid was Cozell McQueen of the 1986-87 Detroit Pistons, who played a grand total of seven minutes that season. In other words, there’s zero precedent for what the 7-foot-2 behemoth is accomplishing in Philadelphia this year.

Though plenty of players look like All-Stars when going solely by per-36-minute or per-100-possession averages, Embiid’s per-game impact in limited minutes is impossible to ignore. Just ask the Sixers’ recent foes.

Next: A profound effect on Philly

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