Recently, there has been some mild speculation that superstar center Joel Embiid may want to leave the Philadelphia 76ers after he recently said he wants to win a championship “in Philly or anywhere else.”
It’s hard to imagine him leaving, as he has been the face of the 76ers for the last several years and is coming off a career season in which he won his first regular-season MVP award.
But plenty of superstars have been traded in the NBA, and the pressure is on Philly to win it all.
Shams Charania seemed to soothe the worries of Sixers fans when he said that although one has to put some weight on Embiid’s words, the big man “is pretty locked in” on winning a Larry O’Brien Trophy with his current team, via Stadium.
"When you have an MVP-caliber player…it's your duty to surround him with (good) players."
The ITA crew discussed Joel Embiid's future in Philly @Camronsmith | @shamscharania | @patgarrity8 pic.twitter.com/0kH2XV5Qes
— Stadium (@Stadium) July 18, 2023
It took Embiid, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, a couple of years to emerge, but once he did, his ultimate potential was clear.
But it took him longer to truly reach his potential due to nagging injuries and, according to his critics, a lack of dedication to his health and fitness.
But this past season, he averaged 33.1 points a game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field, both of which were career highs, which earned him the MVP award.
The Sixers have been considered title contenders over the last few years, and in the 2020-21 season, they even finished first in the Eastern Conference, but they have never gotten as far as the conference finals during Embiid’s time with them.
If they don’t at least reach the NBA Finals soon, it’s always possible Embiid could start plotting an exit strategy.
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