Over the last few years, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has gone from a great player to a dominant one. He is the reigning NBA regular season MVP and has led the league in scoring in each of the last two seasons, and he has seemingly been even better so far this season.
He’s averaging 34.9 points, which is again leading everyone, 11.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.0 blocks shots a game, and he has the Sixers in third place in the Eastern Conference. He has seemingly learned how to do a better job of physically imposing his will on opponents instead of settling for jumpers too often.
However, there is the nagging fact that Embiid has never been to the Eastern Conference Finals and has underperformed come playoff time. His playoff scoring averages are significantly lower than his regular season averages, and he has had a habit of not playing up to his capability in big games.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal said that Embiid has to play dominant ball come playoff time and deliver Philly an NBA championship in order to gain the respect he’s capable of receiving. He alluded to the early phase of his own career before he had won a ring when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave him similar feedback.
While O’Neal is remembered for the three straight world titles he won alongside Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers, there was a time when he was considered a loser who couldn’t come through under pressure. In the mid and late 1990s, his teams routinely got swept out of the playoffs, and O’Neal received lots of blame and criticism as a result.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Last season, it looked like the Sixers finally had a real shot of playing for all the marbles when they took a 3-2 series lead over the favored Boston Celtics in the second round of the postseason. But they fell in Game 6, and in the deciding game in Boston, Embiid went 5-of-18 from the field and scored just 15 points in a 24-point defeat.
This year, he has been aided by the emergence of guard Tyrese Maxey, who is seemingly on his way to his first All-Star selection.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
To be fair, there is a sense that the Sixers need one or two more pieces in order to truly threaten the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for East supremacy. They’re reportedly looking to be aggressive on the trade market in order to bolster their chances of winning it all for the first time since 1983.
