Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is not only arguably the most dominant center currently in the NBA, but he is also one of the most dominant players in general.
The NBA has been transitioning toward more positionless basketball, but Embiid has shown how important and beneficial it can be to still have a player you can throw the ball to in the post and watch go to work.
Embiid puts in the work refining his post-up game, taking different aspects from some of the best back to the basket players in league history. You can see flashes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki in his game as Embiid has developed a style of his own.
The former Kansas product is in the running for the MVP award this season and with good reason. He is averaging 29.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, one steal and 1.5 blocks per game.
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His dominance this season has been compared to another great center in Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal is one of the most dominant players that has ever stepped on an NBA court. In typical Embiid fashion, he addressed the comparisons in only a way that he can.
“He was a monster when he played obviously a Hall of Famer, one of the best ever but I’m Joel Embiid.”
Receiving a comparison to Shaquille O’Neal in any capacity, outside of free-throw shooting, is some of the highest respect a player can receive. He was a no-doubt Hall of Famer and one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
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But, Joel Embiid is right that they are different players. O’Neal was dominant, but only in the paint and around the basket. Embiid can impact the game from virtually anywhere on the court offensively as he is as comfortable stepping out on the perimeter as he is in the post.
This season Embiid is making 37 percent of his 3-point attempts. Teams used to get away with fouling O’Neal and sending him to the foul line with the infamous Hack-A-Shaq strategy. Embiid is going to the foul line frequently himself, averaging 11.7 attempts per game. However, he makes teams pay for sending him there, as he makes 9.5 per game at an 81.6 percent clip.
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That is the biggest difference in how Embiid and O’Neal dominated games. While O’Neal used brute strength to overpower opponents, Embiid has a more diverse game to overcome opponents.
At the end of the day, however, both players were unstoppable. Opponents knew they couldn’t slow them down and hoped to just contain them. Joel Embiid is hopeful that he can add some of the hardware to his resume that Shaquille O’Neal racked up during his illustrious career as well.