Joel Embiid has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. The Cameroonian big man has been averaging an astonishing 33.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while leading the Sixers to the 3rd best record in the East.
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Despite being one of the frontrunners to win the first-ever Michael Jordan Trophy, Hakeem Olajuwon decided to criticize JoJo.
Recently, the Houston legend attacked the Sixers leader for shooting as many threes as he does. According to The Dream, with the size advantage Embiid has, the latter should be utilizing it more judiciously.
“Why would he be shooting threes?” Olajuwon asks. “He has the advantage every night, and if I have the advantage, I’m going to wear you out. But threes? “That’s settling! When I’m tired, I settle. You don’t settle when you’re trying to win. You don’t start the game settling!”
Also Read: Joel Embiid Has Nightmares About Kawhi Leonard But Still Praises the Clippers Superstar
“It’s not the freaking 90s or 80s”: Joel Embiid
Joel is not one of those types of players who stays quiet after receiving any form of criticism. This situation was no different.
In response to what the Hall-Of-Famer had to say, the 5-time All-Star merely implied that the game has evolved over the past few decades.
While targeting Olajuwon, the reigning scoring champ attacked the basketball IQ of the “old guys”. Further, the 280-pound star said:
“It’s funny, when you got these old guys always talking about posting up, need to spend time in the paint and all that, and all that stuff, you can’t win this way anymore. It’s not the freakin’ 90’s or 80’s like it used to be so they must not have any basketball IQ.”
JoJo’s shooting from beyond the arc
Contrary to what Keem claimed, Joel doesn’t settle for threes. Embiid averages 33.6 PPG, and only 10% (1.1 3P per game) of those points come from beyond the arc.
In attempting 3.2 shots from 3-point land, the 4-time All-NBA member is not hurting the 76ers in any way.
Further, his efficiency isn’t all that bad. Shooting 35.2% from the 3-point area, Embiid has a better percentage than the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jordan Poole, Luka Doncic, and Fred VanVleet, among other high-volume 3-point shooters.
