Philadelphia 76ers Big Man Joel Embiid Wants To Be Better Than LeBron James
Joel Embiid is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA, both on the court as well as in the social media world. He is known for burning fellow athletes on Twitter and has taken a few shots at asking Rihanna out on a date. Now, he is hoping to become the best player in the world.
In a recent interview shared by Bleacher Report, Embiid talked about the players that the 76ers were rumored to be interested in acquiring this offseason. Among those players were LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. Embiid made it clear that he is working to be better than any of the players the team tried to bring in.
“When my season ended, there was a lot of talk about adding guys. I literally did not really care because I want to get better. I want to be better than those guys that were mentioned, if I’m not already better than them.”
He also went on to talk about how much better the 76ers would be with him playing at a level that makes him an MVP candidate.
“I feel like if I’m an MVP candidate or if I win the MVP, that means we are on another level.”
Embiid also talked about the season that the 76ers put together and the fact that they thought they could compete for an NBA Finals appearance.
“We won 52 games, which nobody thought would happen; we won 16 games in a row; we thought that we had a chance to go to the Finals. The approach doesn’t change. Still the same. We’re just going to do our thing.”
Joel Embiid's newest target: NBA MVP ? ?
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— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) August 1, 2018
Last season with the 76ers, Embiid ended up averaging 22.9 points per game to go along with 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He shot 48.3 percent from the field overall and knocked down 30.8 percent of his three-point attempts. Embiid has a lot of work to do on his game, but he is still capable of putting up monstrous numbers, as last year proved.
Philadelphia is building a very solid young team around Embiid and star point guard Ben Simmons. Brett Brown and company have to feel good about the direction that they are heading with their current roster.
While being better than James isn’t going to happen for now, Embiid’s hunger to be the best is a good sign for the 76ers. If he is able to perform at an MVP level this season, the 76ers are going to be tough to beat in the Eastern Conference.
James is no longer in the East, which means that Embiid will have a chance to lead Philadelphia to the NBA Finals. Beating the Boston Celtics won’t be easy, but the 76ers are confident that they can shock the league.
