Joel Embiid entered an elite class of NBA stars after winning the 2023 NBA MVP earlier this year. Despite being in the conversation for quite a few years now, the Philadelphia 76ers star hasn’t quite been able to cement his place as the breakaway star of the NBA. However, he’s still a top 5 player in the league any day of the week when he’s healthy. A little over a week ago, Embiid sat down with Ahmad Rashad for an episode of NBA Rewind. During the conversation, the 29-year-old confessed his attraction to the best guards in the league despite being a big man himself.
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Embiid has modeled a large chunk of his game on Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon. Both players had a similar background before stepping into the NBA. Hailing from African countries, Embiid and Olajuwon both started playing basketball very late, around the age of 15-16, after dabbling in the game of soccer. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Embiid looked up to Olajuwon as a role model in the formative years of his career.
Joel Embiid confesses attraction towards guards
During the interview, Ahmad Rashad pointed out that he was impressed by Embiid’s all around game when he first saw him playing in South Africa. The veteran sportscaster proclaimed that he had never seen a 7 ft big man shoot threes and run the offense like a point guard. In response, Embiid admitted that he has worked hard to make his game well-rounded.
“I am able to do everything on the basketball court…and that’s where I wanted to get to. I mean it is nice to be in this position as a complete basketball player,” the 76ers centerpiece said. Subsequently, Rashad asked Embiid if he only watched Hakeem’s game growing up.
“I watched a bunch of guys. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been always more attracted to the guards. You know, so Kobe [Bryant], MJ [Michael Jordan], those are the guys that I really really paid attention to,” the six-time All-Star admitted. He added that he couldn’t help being fascinated by the crafty game of the guards despite being aware of the fact that he should be following the game of the bigs like Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki and Hakeem instead.
Embiid responds to criticism from traditional centers
During the episode, Rashad also showed a video clip to Embiid which displayed the uncanny resemblance of his game with that of Hakeem’s, followed by a text from the Dream complimenting the 76ers star. However, Embiid didn’t seem too impressed with the whole thing.
He stated that he was disappointed with the way centers from the past, like Olajuwon and Shaq, criticized him for shooting jumpers instead of camping in the post. The two-time NBA Scoring Champion pointed out that the evolution of the game has now made it impossible for a center to play only in the paint and help his team. Therefore, it’s necessary that he diversifies his game in the age of small ball.
