Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins has a nice profile of Joel Embiid ready for consumption today in the lead up to the 76ers' big man playing in his first NBA game tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There's nothing particularly revelatory but it is a very nice glimpse into who Embiid is and it will be a must-read for any Sixers fan wanting to get in on the JoJo love from the start.
The quote that everybody is going to be talking about, and rightfully so, is this one:
I really feel like I’m The Process, like The Process is about me.
As we've written before, Joel would like The Process to be his nickname as well.
Some things you'll learn when reading it:
- Embiid was actually kind of soft when he came over from Cameroon and wasn't particularly skilled on the hardwood.
- He's self-taught in hoops but also tennis. He models his finesse game on the tennis court after Roger Federer.
- After meeting former Sixers' GM Tony DiLeo one time at the airport, he spent an entire plane ride studying his transactions history.
- Not surprisingly, Sam Hinkie was a guy Embiid leaned on when going through some tough times in both life and his rehab.
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas played a mentoring role for Embiid after his setback.
And finally, he learned how to shoot by watching "white people." For real, go read the whole thing.
NBA
“You know how I learned to shoot?” Embiid says. “I watched white people. Just regular white people. They really put their elbow in and finish up top. You can find videos of them online.”
