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Joel Embiid’s Journey To One Of The NBA’s Most Dominant Big Men

By Ryan Jackson

Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid walks from the dressing room for warmups against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid walks from the dressing room for warmups against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts during the first half of the game between the Wichita State Shockers and the Kansas Jayhawks in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament against the Wichita State Shockers at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas head coach Bill Self /

Coming Into His Own

And in his senior season, the player once praised for his potential alone finally began to tap into it.  That year he was a key figure in The Rock School’s 33-4 record and eventual state championship.  Embiid averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks that campaign.

He had seen significant improvement in fundamental areas of the game, but still struggled in perhaps the most difficult aspect, defending without fouling, hence the deflated statistics.

Joel Embiid was one of the most highly-acclaimed center prospects in the last decade, but when fall rolled around and Embiid had arrived at Kansas, he was mostly an afterthought. After all, Kansas had just lured the country’s top recruit to come to their school, the player deemed the next LeBron, Andrew Wiggins.