Los Angeles — Joel Embiid kicked off the 2018 NBA All-Star Game by scoring the first five points of the game, finishing an and-1 dunk for his first points, then following it up with a midrange jump shot a few possessions later.
The sequence was the start of an eventful night for the Sixers’ first-time All-Star, who finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist in 20 minutes of play, in a game filled with the brightest stars the sport has to offer.
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Embiid drained a 30-foot three that Russell Westbrook dared him to shoot, then met Westbrook at the rim on the very next possession, blocking the seven-time All-Star and throwing a brief stare his way. He drained another corner three in the second half, worked Kevin Durant on the block for a crucial late bucket, and ran Paul George off the three-point line with 50 seconds left, recovering to block George’s shot at the rim and preserve — momentarily at least — a 144-144 tie.
In short, Embiid proved he belonged.
“During the season I kinda thought that I was a top 5, top 10 player in the league,” Embiid told reporters after the game. “Coming in here before the game I wanted confirmation of it.”
Embiid’s team lost the lead late, with LeBron James scoring off a cut to the basket with 35 seconds left, giving Team LeBron a 1-point lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The deciding basket came with Embiid out of the game for a crucial defensive stop.
“I feel like I’m the best defensive player in the league,” Embiid said about being out of the game on that last possession, pointing to his block on Paul George as a showcase of his versatility. He did acknowledge that the three-point shot he gave up to James a few possessions earlier was perhaps bad scouting on his part. “LeBron hit a three on me. That was probably a bad scouting report because when he’s at that spot he likes to step back and shoot a three. I knew that, but I kinda forgot because it’s the All-Star Game.”
Embiid was brought back on the court for the final offensive possession, with 10 seconds left and his team down by three. After receiving the inbounds pass, Embiid gave the ball up to Steph Curry, who somewhat surprisingly decided to not pull the trigger on a 30-foot three-point shot that he pump faked on. Curry ended up getting caught in the corner after being trapped by James and Durant, and Team Steph never got a shot off before time expired.
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“Well, I wanted to shoot it, but I felt like I had Steph and Klay [Thompson] on my team, and [Paul George] was really pressuring me,” Embiid said about the final offensive possession. “I felt like that was the better idea to pass them the ball because they’ve been doing that for years. I have a lot of respect for them and that’s what I did.”
No matter. Outside of a chance to win the MVP award, and a few extra dollars that go to players on the winning team, the outcome of the game had little real consequence. What was important was Embiid showed the world, and himself, that he deserves his spot in the league’s pantheon of great players.
“It was special. It was probably more special than it should have been just because I went through so much,” Embiid said about his experience at the All-Star Game. “Being introduced as an All-Star starter. I was kinda … my heart was beating really fast. I was shaking a little bit too. That’s probably my best memory.”
Embiid talks trash on Draymond Green
After the game, Embiid talked about all the players he learned from over the weekend, from spending much of the game in the ear of Curry on the bench, to Kyle Lowry, to DeMar DeRozan, who he called “always amazing.” He also opened up about his discussions with Draymond Green during the course of the game.
“Draymond, of course. I talked a lot about him not being able to guard me,” Embiid said, diving into the art of trash talking when the question posed to him was about who he learned from. “Then of course he mentioned when we blew the lead against them. Of course he had to mention that.”
Embiid had the brief stare directed Westbrook’s way after the block, a moment that he joked after the game was the highlight of the weekend, before providing a more serious answer of hearing his name announced as an All-Star starter as being the moment he’ll most remember. That, along with the aforementioned playful trash talk with Green, was about all the trash talking the Cameroonian jokester seemed to perform on the night. He even avoided trolling anybody after the game.
First All Star game and it was an amazing experience!! Learned a lot and decided not to troll tonight #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/JT03oqGjNc
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 19, 2018
Opposing players show Embiid respect
Over the course of the weekend, opposing stars consistently showed Embiid respect.
“He’s a great player. He’s definitely a guy you respect, and is going to take over this league once I’m done,” Durant said of Embiid. “He can hit the three. He can dribble. He developed his skills over time, and he wants it.”
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James also pointed to Embiid’s diverse set of skills.
“I think the skills that makes Joel special on the court are his ability to do a little bit of everything,” James said. “There aren’t many guys with his size and height to be able to put that type of footwork and that type of package together.”
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Embiid’s plans for the rest of the All-Star break? Rest.
“Go to Philly. Sleep in my bed. Eat some good food. Sleep a lot because this weekend has been too much,” Embiid explained.
Embiid, and the Sixers, will look to continue the excellent play they’ve demonstrated over their recent 5-game winning streak.
“Right now we’re two or three games out of the 4th seed. Now we want home-court advantage, and the last couple of games we’ve been playing great so we just got to keep the same momentum,” Embiid said about the team’s goals. “I actually felt better [after the Miami win] because sometimes when I have injuries I’ve been pushing myself [to play] just to make sure I don’t let my teammates down.”
The Sixers have a 27-17 record when Embiid plays so far this season. Before the come-from-behind win over Miami last Wednesday, the Sixers were just 2-8 in games when Embiid did not play.
The Sixers resume play Thursday night in Chicago. They’ll return to the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday to take on the struggling Orlando Magic.
Top photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
