Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has accomplished a ton in his NBA career. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Embiid has career averages of 27.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while being named an All-Star seven times, earning the scoring title twice, and also has an MVP award under his belt. All that’s missing really is a championship on his Hall of Fame resume.
However, Embiid doesn’t necessarily need to win a title to get into the Hall. There are plenty of players who have not won a title that have earned the honor. For example, Sixers legends Allen Iverson and Charles Barkley are Hall of Famers, but did not win that elusive title in their careers.
Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague gave his thoughts on Embiid’s Hall of Fame candidacy on his podcast “Club 520” (h/t Yahoo!):
“It ain’t matter, just get your chicken, brother. He’s done after these three years for sure… “That (expletive) missed so many games, though. He missed years. He missed three years. He missed his whole first year or something,” the retired guard said on his “Club 520” podcast. “That boy ain’t never played 70 games. He might not make the Hall of Fame, bro. How many points he scored?… 12,000 ain’t that many, I scored 10 (thousand).”
Please be advised that the clip below contains language that some might consider offensive!
Teague makes a good point about his injury history. It’s a shame that many will remember Embiid for being injured and the games he missed more than for his incredible feats on the court. One has to believe the big fella will have a strong case for the Hall when it’s all said and done, but that remains to be seen.