“You don’t think Joel Embiid could average 50 a game like Wilt Chamberlain?!”: JJ Redick is livid at the thought of his former Sixers teammate not dominating in Wilt’s era

JJ Redick believes wholeheartedly that Joel Embiid is just as good as Wilt Chamberlain and that he could average 50 in the 1960s. 

Joel Embiid has been playing like the NBA’s MVP for two seasons now and it’s beginning to feel as though he may lose the award to Nikola Jokic for a second year in a row. His ability to draw fouls due to the sole fact that he’s too good to not play aggressive defense on has transformed the way people plan against the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Many believed that suffocating Embiid downlow with multiple bodies would get him to make bad decisions but this series against the Raptors has proven that Joel Embiid has grown quite a bit in finding the open man through traffic.

Also read: “Nobody can guard Joel Embiid if the refs let him run you over”: Raptors head coach, Nick Nurse, bashes refs for not giving Scottie Barnes and company a fair whistle against Sixers MVP

Another Sixers legend who had to learn to get others involved for the sake of winning a championship was Wilt Chamberlain. His team-based accolades pale in comparison to what he accomplished individually and that was due to him figuring out the assist game nearly a decade after he’d been in the league. 

JJ Redick on Joel Embiid and Wilt Chamberlain. 

JJ Redick has been a breath of fresh air in the NBA media sphere. His podcast with Tommy Alter gets into the nitty gritty of all things basketball from the collegiate level to even talk about basketball overseas. Having played with Joel Embiid on the 76ers, Redick knows more than a thing or two about the MVP finalist and his talent.

Also read: “Proud of Philadelphia 76ers for their 180 degree turn”: When Joel Embiid heartily praised Sixers front office for their bailout plan in post-Covid economy

While on air with Stephen A Smith and ‘Mad Dog’, JJ hilariously gets into a back-and-forth on the latter about today’s superstars and how they would fare in the 1960s. The clear cut answer here is that players today would demolish defenses of the 60s. 

Redick’s example was that Embiid would average 50 points a game like Wilt did if he were dropped into the 1960s. He would also go on to say that if Kyrie Irving was transported to that era, people would believe a wizard had just stepped out on the floor.