Joel Embiid meets his biggest fan
Philadelphia 76ers rookie big man Joel Embiid didn’t play during his team’s thrilling 122-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, but that didn’t stop him from making one young fan’s day.
A three-year-old by the name of Charlotte has been the second-biggest phenomenon sweeping Sixers Twitter over the past week (short of only #RaiseTheCat), as the adorable girl has quickly grown fond of Philadelphia’s newest star.
Embiid's celebrity crush #TrustTheProcess #KissTheProcess @Sixers @JoelEmbiid pic.twitter.com/7JpbAmtjCu
— Charxey (@SnowmanEmbiid) January 21, 2017
#MimicTheProcess pic.twitter.com/DdLaCduy3U
— Charxey (@SnowmanEmbiid) January 21, 2017
On Monday, she had a chance to meet her celebrity crush in person:
Her father, Matt, told CSN Philly’s Molly Sullivan how Charlotte’s infatuation sprouted: “Our family started watching the Sixers as we do every year, and fell in love with Embiid as everybody else has. She just watched the TV and connected with him, and just loved him so much.”
When Sullivan asked her mother, Maggie, what it was like to see her daughter meet Embiid, she replied, “It’s really cool. You always want to see your kid meet their hero, so we’re very happy to have that opportunity for her.”
Afterward, Charlotte expressed her gratitude to Embiid and the 76ers for making her night:
Still trying to PROCESS tonight but we're overwhelmed with all the love. THANK YOU @JoelEmbiid @JHoltz @Sixers pic.twitter.com/lFLP3DCULH
— Charxey (@SnowmanEmbiid) January 31, 2017
The fates rewarded Embiid’s good deed, as the Sixers won 10 games in a month for the first time since January 2012, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
The @Sixers had 10 wins in January, their most in a calendar month since Jan. 2012 and as many as they had all of last season: pic.twitter.com/UC9GmimDvS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 31, 2017
Prior to them catching fire in 2017, the Sixers went through three-plus years of hardships, testing the patience of even their most loyal fans at times. Though their trajectory appears blindly bright moving forward—No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons could make his debut shortly after the All-Star break, per ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes—the organization deserves credit for rewarding loyal fans who stuck it out through the hard times. From having their star rookie meet a three-year-old superfan to their head coach paying for food and drinks for 300-plus listeners of the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast, the Sixers’ embrace of their diehards shouldn’t go unnoticed.
The Best fans in the world... Travelled all the way to DC to support us.. We really appreciate it #TheProcess #BusTheProcess pic.twitter.com/I8DfTnbkMA
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 15, 2017
But to long-standing critics of former general manager Sam Hinkie’s “Process” who are now bandwagoning on to the team given their recent success, there’s just one thing to say: Nah, son.