The 2022-23 NBA season has been an up-and-down affair thus far for the Philadelphia 76ers. They have already had to navigate some time without their superstars, James Harden and Joel Embiid, who has missed games with injury and illness. Harden will still be sidelined for a little while longer, but Embiid has since returned with a vengeance.
Embiid has missed four games thus far this season, but since getting back into the lineup, he has helped the team get back on track. They have won three out of their last four games with Embiid suiting up, evening their record at 7-7 on the season.
“As a team,” Embiid said, “we’re starting to find our way.”
In their most recent victory over the Utah Jazz, Embiid put on a show, reminding everyone just how dominant he could be. He scored a career-high 59 points as Utah had no answers for him, as he shot 19-of-28 from the field and 20-of-24 from the foul line.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Joel Embiid & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
In addition to the gaudy scoring output, Embiid grabbed 11 rebounds with eight assists and seven blocks. It was a record-setting performance by him, as he either created new clubs or joined very prestigious ones.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Embiid is the first player in NBA history to score at least 50 points with 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks since blocks became an official stat for the 1973-74 season. In the last 25 years, no player has recorded at least 20 points and five blocks in a single quarter as Embiid did on Sunday.
His fourth-quarter scoring barrage, as he outscored both teams by himself 26-21, made him the first person to achieve that feat since Tracy McGrady in 2006. He also joins an elite group, along with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Bradley Beal, as players to score at least 100 points across a back-to-back since the NBA-ABA merger and the first center to do so since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967.
“This is not about me,” Embiid said afterward. “We did it as a team. Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions and my teammates fed me the ball.
“I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing. … Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Joel Embiid & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Embiid’s teammates realized that he had it going and that something special was brewing. They were well aware of where to get the ball because they knew that continuing to feed Embiid was also their best path to victory against the Jazz.
“It’s funny,” Tyrese Maxey said. “I was like, at one point, Coach was trying to run a play, like a pick-and-roll play, and I was like, ‘Let’s get the ball to Joel.’ And he was like, ‘I agree.’ Because he’s really good right now.”
“He was making shots over three people, blocking every shot,” Maxey said. “That’s big, to win two games in a row like that.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Joel Embiid & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
This is a performance that will be remembered for a very long time. With the NBA transitioning to positionless basketball, the center position is being phased out of action a little bit, but what Embiid accomplished just goes to show how beneficial it can be to still have a top center in your lineup.
