Embiid Tops Rookie of the Year List
After sitting out two full seasons, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid looks poised to garner the NBA Rookie of the Year award. And by poised, I mean he’s an absolute lock. In fact this article is really just a formality. Aside from Embiid the 2016 rookie class looks stiff and uninspiring. Still, for the sake of journalistic balance and because we’re nearly halfway through the season, let’s take a look at this year’s freshman crop, the good, the decent, and the not so decent, beginning of course with Mr. Process himself.
Before going any further it’s important to acknowledge that Embiid has sat out every game since he was drafted in 2014. Though he’s had the fortune of hanging around an actual NBA squad for the past two years, this is his first season of league play. Meaning he’s still technically eligible to win Rookie of the Year. Among pundits, there’s a discussion about whether or not Embiid has a bit of a competitive edge over his fellow rookies. But to be honest, even if he were drafted this year he’d still be hulking over every other freshman in the class. Right now, there’s not a single rookie threatening to unseat Embiid from the top of the pile.
The good:
Despite sitting out ten nonconsecutive games this season, Embiid leads the pack with a solid stat line of 19.4 points, 7.3 boards, 2 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. Not to mention he’s doing this on an average 25 minutes a night. If he were playing 36 minutes a game (the average on-court time for NBA stars) he’d be averaging a nice double double with 27.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks a game. That means Embiid is already playing at an all-star level. On a team with eleven different players playing twenty plus minutes a game, Embiid has established himself as the Sixers’ biggest threat-the pillar around which Philly shall build the franchise. There’s just one concern: his health.
Tonight against the Knicks, Embiid went to the locker room with a slight limp after an awkward fall. He later returned to help the Sixers eke out a 98-97 win. Following a major injury to his right foot, Embiid has undergone two difficult surgeries. Needless to say, the road back has been long and arduous. Even now, it’s clear that he’s not a hundred percent if a small puddle of sweat is able to hamper his play. Granted the kid with the sweat mop should’ve been doing his job, but that doesn’t change the fact that his health remains rather questionable in the long term.
I can think of one other rookie big man who faced a bevy of injuries throughout his young career. I’ll give you a hint: he looks like a seventy year old man in gym shorts, and his name rhymes with Shmeg Boden. Still despite this seemingly apt comparison, it’s entirely possible that Embiid could continue to rehab his foot and come back strong for a long, productive career. Whether or not he stays healthy remains to be seen. But nonetheless, barring some catastrophic injury… okay maybe I shouldn’t jinx it. Let’s just say he’s having a stellar year and we hope it continues.
The decent:
As for runners up on the RoY ballot, Embiid’s teammate Dario Saric is averaging 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. Plus he’s shown he can hit the three. Last Sunday against the Nets, he went three of six from three. Behind Saric, Pelicans’ guard Buddy Hield is posting 9.2 points a game, but that’s about it for decent stat lines. Then coming in fourth on this little shortlist is Milwaukee’s Malcolm Brogdon who’s averaging 9.1 points and 3.9 assists.
Beyond that there’s really no one else worth mentioning. 2016’s first overall pick Ben Simmons (another Sixers rookie) has yet to play a single game. Brandon Ingram, the Lakers’ no. 2 overall pick, is averaging 8 points a game–nothing too special–while playing some fair shutdown defense in the backcourt. Still, none of these guys–from Saric to Ingram–are playing nearly at Embiid’s level. It’s pretty much a guarantee that Mr. Process will also be Mr. Rookie of the Year when the season’s over.
The hell?
All of this uninspiring mediocrity begs the question: what the hell? Granted it’s not like the rookie of the year race is MJ, LeBron quality every year. But still, who expected this year’s class to fare so poorly outside of Embiid? The average field goal percentage for rookies is honestly pathetic–hovering somewhere around 40 percent. What happened to the days when handfuls of stars came into the league en masse? It’s a slightly worrisome trend for the future of the league, but it might just be an isolated incident. Some times this just happens. Sometimes, draft classes land like pennies in a pool–without much of a splash.
Still it would be nice if there were at least a morsel of competition for Embiid this season. Unless some major magic happens to one of these other names in the latter half of the year, it’s unlikely we’ll be getting much drama when the votes are tallied.
