Joel Embiid‘s Game 3 performance has been the talk of the town today. The Philadelphia 76ers star was so impressive against the Knicks that the self-admittedly super fan of the New York franchise can’t stop himself from praising Embiid. On the recent episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith heaped praise on the 76ers center and even went as far as saying that if he manages to stay healthy, he’ll be the greatest big man ever.
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For a very long time, the most dominant or the greatest big man ever title has been with Shaquille O’Neal. It’s rare when someone dares to take that away from Shaq. However, now his old buddy Stephen A. is claiming that Embiid could be the greatest ever, with only one condition. To be fair, the media veteran’s comment came after the 76ers center put up a spectacle at the Wells Fargo Center with 50 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 41 minutes of playing time and managed to get his team on the scoreboard for the series.
Impressed by what he saw from Embiid, SAS said, “This dude, Joel Embiid is one of the greatest big men to have ever played the game of basketball. If he were healthy…there would be religious conversation, is this not the greatest big man we have ever seen in the history of basketball?” Stephen A. said that even with Nikola Jokić dominating the league and with Shaq’s legacy in the league, a case can be made for a healthier Joel Embiid as the greatest big man of all time. Despite all the praise, Stephen A. still picked his favorite team to win the series.
Stephen A. said, “He can do what he wants on one leg against the Knicks”, but he’d still pick the NY franchise to win the series. He said that even though Game 3 was a setback, the Knicks will bounce back in Game 4 and then come back to the MSG for Game 5 and close the series over the 76ers. Whether it’s a fair assessment by the media veteran or it’s just the fan in him rooting for the Knicks, we will find out the results of Game 4 tomorrow. Interestingly, SAS is not the only media personality who believes that Embiid has the quality to become the best.
Gilbert Arenas believes that Joel Embiid is the most dominant player in the world
Gilbert Arenas uses his platform to diversify the NBA discourse in the media. The NBA veteran talks about all things basketball on several platforms that he actively uses. During an episode of his Gil’s Arena podcast, he was asked if he would consider Embiid as the most dominant player in the world.
Arenas said, “He’s been playing like it, unstoppable, and you know…what we were saying last year that he has more in his tank, and if he played like Giannis and had Giannis’ engine, what would it look like? Here we go.” Embiid surely has some major co-signs as far as his position in the league as a big man is concerned. All he needs is to work on his health and fitness and he would have two of the most powerful media voices rooting for him and his place as the greatest big man ever.
