
HoopsHype ranks Sixers star Joel Embiid in top 79 players of all time
Embiid, the No. 3 pick of the 2014 NBA draft, has career averages of 27.7 points and 11.0 rebounds and has led the league in scoring twice. He won the MVP award in 2023 when he averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists and was on his way to winning the award again in 2024 before suffering a knee injury in January of that season.
HoopsHype put together a list of the top 79 players in the history of the NBA and Embiid came in ranked No. 77 on the list:
When ready to go, he's one of the most unstoppable big men ever thanks to his massive frame, mobility and deep bag.
The problem with him is that he doesn't play that many minutes considering he misses a lot of time due to health reasons regularly. Plus his track record in the playoffs is spotty as well.
If he manages to stay in shape and healthy and gets the Sixers to make deep runs in the postseason, he could move up in this ranking. We're not holding our breath, though. Not with his age and the way he looked last year.
After undergoing knee surgery in April, Embiid is hopeful that he can come back and be the same dominant player he once was. The big question marks are the fact that he is on the wrong side of 30 now and he has undergone two surgeries on that left knee in a span of 14 months. It's tough to see him really becoming the player he once was in the near future.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA.com names Nuggets' Nikola Jokic top player in the West
names Nuggets' Nikola Jokic top player in the West originally appeared on The Sporting News The NBA season is creeping up with just over two months before the start of the regular season. This being said, rankings of teams and players are starting to come out. Shaun Powell of was able to make a list of the top players in the Western Conference on Wednesday, and the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic topped the list, coming in at the No. 1 spot in front of top players like 2024-25 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, and more. Jokic, 30, is widely known as one of the best – if not the best – basketball players on the planet. Although he lost the MVP race to the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic has won the Most Valuable Player award in three out of four years in 2021, 2022, and 2024. The Nuggets' franchise superstar just turned 30 in February, and he's shown no signs of slowing down. In the 2024-25 season, Jokic averaged a triple-double with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists while shooting 57.6% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the three-point line. "Not only is he the best player in basketball, but he's having one of the all-time runs in basketball history... His triple-double capability on a nightly basis and franchise-carrying shoulders that still endure are evidence of No. 1 greatness," Shaun Powell wrote in his article. After getting eliminated by the championship-winning Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Jokic and the Nuggets will look to capture their second championship title next season.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Guerschon Yabusele gives his thoughts on why Sixers fell short in 2025
The 2024-25 season was supposed to be big one for the Philadelphia 76ers. After adding 9-time All-Star Paul George to the roster and forming a star trio of George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers were expected to contend for a title. Instead, injuries decimated the roster. George played only 41 games. Embiid only played 19. Maxey played 52. Those three stars played 18 games together--finishing only 15 of them. First-round pick Jared McCain was limited to only 23 games after a meniscus tear in his left knee. It was a nightmare season for Philadelphia. Guerschon Yabusele, a real find for the Sixers, played 70 games and averaged 11.0 points and 45.6 rebounds for Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the Sixers lost him in free agency as he signed with the rival New York Knicks. On the most recent episode of "The Roommates Show", Yabusele opened up on why he believes things went wrong for the Sixers. He acknowledged the injuries, but there was one factor that he believes messed them up a bit: I feel like we tried. Then what really changed the team a little bit was, in my opinion, was the trades. I feel like we was there. Guys was just injured. We should have trusted a little bit more that, and try to let the guys come back to be able to pursue, try to get to the playoffs, and then I feel like when we changed that, basically we changed, you know, four guys or something like that, and then it's like four new guys coming up. Then it was a lot of guys that keep getting signed for 10-day contracts here and there. So it was hard to find the chemistry with the teammates, but other than that, I would say we tried, or at least I tried to give my best and everything every night to make sure that we still got to show the positive signs. I was not hurt. So it's no way that I come out there and then be sloppy. I just feel like it was just my mentality going to every game. Yabusele will look to give the Knicks a boost off the bench with his ability to put the ball in the basket down low or from the perimeter. He also plays with a ton of energy night in and night out so the Sixers will miss that high motor while New York will benefit from it.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Should the Nets still keep tabs on Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The Brooklyn Nets have made it clear since last offseason that they are trying to rebuild the franchise through the draft, as evidenced by their five picks in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Brooklyn would presumably like to improve on its 26-56 record from the 2024-25 season so there is a possibility that general manager Sean Marks could keep his options open. While Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is more likely to remain in Milwaukee than he is to request a trade this offseason, there is some reporting that could give other teams reason to continue monitoring Antetokounmpo's status. "Sources tell me there's still nothing set in stone about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will stay in Milwaukee or whether he will be leaving," ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday. The Bucks have made various moves to surround Antetokounmpo with the best team possible given the circumstances, but Charania's report could indicate that the "Greek Freak" isn't quite sold as of yet. With that being said, there is still a possibility that Antetokounmpo is dealt before the beginning of the 2025-26 campaign so let's take a look at what the Nets could do to potentially bring him to Brooklyn (h/t B/R's Grant Hughes): The Mock Trade Nets Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bucks Receive: forward Michael Porter Jr., 2027 first-round pick (top-1 protected), 2027 first-round pick (via NYK), 2029 first-round pick (top-1 protected), 2029 first-round pick (via HOU), 2031 first-round pick (top-1 protected). Reason For/Against The Nets Doing This Trade Over the past couple of years, it has been made clear through a myriad of reports that the Nets are fond of Antetokounmpo and seemed to prefer trading for him as opposed to other players considered to be less than untouchable. Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported during the 2024-25 season that Brooklyn was still interested in Antetokounmpo so the latest reporting could potentially reinvigorate that interest. The argument for trading for Antetokounmpo is simple: the Nets would be getting one of the best players in the league and is still just 30 years old. Antetokounmpo would be far and away Brooklyn's best player heading into next season if this trade went through and he would still have players like Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas (assuming he re-signs), and Egor Demin to share the floor with. The argument for passing on trading for Antetokounmpo is also understandable given that the Nets would be giving up their own first-round picks in 2027, 2029, and 2031 as long as those picks aren't first overall. It's hard to see a team like the Bucks do this trade with any kind of protections on the picks especially since Antetokounmpo is still in MVP-level form and you wouldn't give up Antetokounmpo while not being able to draft the best available players over the next few seasons. Verdict While the idea of acquiring Antetokounmpo is understandably enticing to any team in the NBA, the Nets have to think about the long game during this rebuild. Getting Antetokounmpo would ensure that Brooklyn is going all in on a team that would presumably compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but is probably not good enough to compete for a championship. While Thomas, Claxton, and Demin are still young, Antetokounmpo is most likely towards the end of his prime, assuming that he doesn't age as well as Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. Even if Antetokounmpo ages gracefully, he has three years left on his contract with the third year being a player option. So, the Nets would presumably have two years to convince Antetokounmpo to not only want a trade, but to sign another contract that would take him through the end of his career. Marks has already gone all in once during his tenure as GM and Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving did not work out for a variety of reasons, some outside of anyone's control. Marks said at the end of the season that the Nets will keep their minds open as they progress through the offseason, but ending the rebuild for Antetokounmpo may not be the move. Brooklyn would most likely not do this trade, at least not how the mock trade suggests.