Is Joel Embiid a Hall of Famer? NBA experts weigh in

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Is Joel Embiid a Hall of Famer? NBA experts weigh in originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sixers fans will not see Joel Embiid play anymore this season. The complications surrounding his left knee won’t allow him to do so, and the team has no solidified treatment plan in place, at least none that they’ve shared with anyone.

Thinking optimistically, the team will open the 2025-26 season with its star ready to go. On the flip side, if they can’t find a way to allow for Embiid to play pain-free, his NBA career could be over at the age of 31.

His career has certainly been a roller coaster to this point, with just as many gut-wrenching low points (and holding patterns) as dizzying heights.

If Embiid does happen to hang them up, is his career worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame?

It’s a debatable premise. At his best, few have been better. He played nine seasons, was named to the All-Star game in seven of them, and earned five All-NBA honors. He is one of seven players in NBA history to post multiple 30-point, ten-rebound seasons. He won the league’s MVP two years ago, finished second in the voting twice. He won two scoring titles, and was well on his way to a third (and maybe a second MVP trophy) last season before missing two months with a torn lateral meniscus that required surgery. When healthy, he is arguably among the best two-way players of his era.

When healthy.

His injury battles are the other side of the argument. From the start of his career, injuries have hounded him, injuries that ranged from logical to ridiculous. He was selected third in the 2014 Draft, and didn’t make his NBA debut until two years later, after breaking (and re-breaking) a bone in his foot.

It was first the foot, then the left knee. He broke his face, tore up his finger, hurt his right knee, came down with COVID-19, tore a ligament in his thumb, broke his face again, needed left knee surgery, and even dealt with a bout of Bell’s palsy, temporarily paralyzing his face. Beginning with the 2016-17 season, Embiid played 452 regular season games. By the end of this season, he will have missed 267 games, or more than…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/joel-embiid-hall-famer-nba-070000563.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2025-03-07 07:00:00

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