Joel Embiid Makes Philadelphia Proud During All-Star Weekend
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Joel Embiid is a Philadelphia treasure.
His story is incredible, as Embiid came to the U.S. from Cameroon and didn't start playing basketball until he was a teenager. He lost his first two NBA seasons to injury and then tragically lost his brother in an accident. Many people never believed he'd be able to last in the NBA, but here he is.
The 23-year-old represented the city tremendously in his first all-star weekend -- first in Friday's Rising Stars game, then in Saturday's Skills competition, and finally on Sunday in the all-star game.
Light work for @JoelEmbiid ???? (➡️ @MetroPCS) pic.twitter.com/gP3VpeWU7J
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 17, 2018
Embiid cheated in the skills competition and joked about it on social media.
He also left the tag on his jersey.
.@JoelEmbiid still had the tag on his jersey ???? #TacoBellSkills pic.twitter.com/ZSAJiTwMeM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 18, 2018
He revealed his go-to pickup line.
He then dropped 19 points on 8-13 shooting in 20 minutes, to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks in his first all-star game.
19 PTS / 8 REB / 2 BLK / 1 STL
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 19, 2018
A pretty successful first #NBAAllStar Game appearance for @JoelEmbiid.#NBAAllStar x #JoelEmbiid https://t.co/Y9WacRKP7c
His favorite moment in the all-star? Blocking Russell Westbrook's shot. "Just kidding."
Joel Embiid splashes a 3⃣ over Russell Westbrook on one end and blocks the Brodie on the other ????
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 19, 2018
(via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/sf3gWx3JWr
.@JoelEmbiid's favorite memory from the #NBAAllStar game? ???? https://t.co/88XCaFYDDp
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 19, 2018
Kevin Durant talked about Embiid's future.
Is @JoelEmbiid the next king of the NBA? pic.twitter.com/PSIijhvrfo
— ESPN (@espn) February 18, 2018
And lastly, we got a glimpse into the student Embiid is of the game.
"Who do you think is the best player?"#JoelEmbiid was mic'd up for #NBAAllStar! pic.twitter.com/PL9IgM5p1B
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2018