Following two seasons lost to two right foot surgeries, Joel Embiid is making a thunderous case for Rookie of the Year this season. In a rookie class that has plenty of talented players such as Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown, Embiid has outclassed them thus far in the season and is the early runaway favorite for the award.
Embiid is currently on a minutes restriction. However, he has been extremely effective in limited time. In 21.4 minutes per game, the 76ers center is averaging 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. He is already putting up NBA starting-center caliber numbers. However, if we look at his per 36 minutes stats are astounding. If Embiid were to average 36 minutes per game, his averages would skyrocket to 29.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.4 blocks per game. Although the prospect of Embiid playing that many minutes per game is impossible, especially given his injury history, the prospect that he is capable of putting up those kind of numbers is tantalizing.
The 76ers rookie has already shown an advanced offensive skill set early on.
Embiid has shown ability to shoot the three. Although it is a small sample size, he is shooting 50 percent from the three point line. That is an incredible percentage not just for bigs, but for any shooter regardless of position. He has a game where he went 4-4 from the three against the Cleveland Cavaliers. To put the significance into perspective, the Golden State Warriors had an offensive rating of 114.5 during the regular season last season. When the met the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, their offensive rating dropped significantly, down to a 99.9. Embiid also managed to finish that game with 22 points as well as 4 blocks, a couple at the expense of the best player in the NBA in LeBron James.
On top of being able to take the ball outside of the paint, Embiid has showcased a handful of nifty post moves. Going into the 2014 NBA Draft, he was compared to Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. Olajuwon was well regarded for his ability to shake defenders with his agility and advanced skill set in the paint. Embiid is no exception.
As he continues to learn the NBA game, he's going to be scary. Right now he's operating purely on talent. He's got the physical stature to push opposing players around but also the quickness to get by bigger, slower defenders. On top of that, his big stature makes him fully capable of drawing fouls. Embiid is already average 6.8 free throw attempts per game, converting on 78.5 percent of those attempts. His ability to hit the free throws makes him even more dangerous because defenders can't depend on him missing free throws compared to players of similar stature such as Dwight Howard.
On defense, Embiid's combined activity and size makes him incredibly imposing to attacking guards and tough centers. Embiid has the strength and frame to defend bigs and the agility to keep up with guards off the pick and roll. He makes for a tough cover for other agile bigs such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis because he has no issues running with them in the open court or stretching out on them if they want to attack from outside the paint.
At this point, the Rookie of the Year award is Embiid's to lose. Nobody can even come close to the work that he's putting up early this season, arguably throughout the rest of the season assuming he stays healthy. He's one of the most exciting players to watch and he's rejuvenated a franchise that seemed to be dead in the water and has made them a team fans actually want to watch by himself. There is so much potential that Embiid has yet to surface and he'll be an exciting prospect to watch throughout his career.
