ESPN ranks Sixers' Joel Embiid No. 8 on top 100 NBA players list

ESPN ranks Sixers’ Joel Embiid No. 8 on top 100 NBA players list

Posted by author October 20, 2024 NBA

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Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the top players in the game regardless of position due to his ability to score at a high rate from all three levels on the floor. He can knock down triples, he can score in the mid-range, he can get to the basket off the dribble, and he can get to the free-throw line.

Despite playing just 39 games in the 2023-24 season due to a meniscus injury in his left knee, Embiid was fantastic. He averaged 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists and then averaged 33.0 points on one leg in the playoffs against the New York Knicks.

ESPN, however, took the injuries into account when ranking the top 100 players for the 2024-25 season. Embiid fell five spots from the previous season as he comes in ranked No. 8 on the list:

Injuries. When Embiid was healthy last season, he was having a truly historic season, as he was on pace to become the second player — alongside only Wilt Chamberlain — to have more points than minutes played. Then a knee injury derailed his season. As a result, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player wound up being ineligible to defend his crown, playing just 39 games. He came back in time to play against the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs but clearly was less than 100 percent due to the combination of his knee and a case of Bell’s palsy, across Philadelphia’s six-game exit.

The injuries are the only thing holding Embiid back. If the big fella could ever have just one healthy playoff run, one has to believe the sky’s the limit for both he and the Sixers. Unfortunately, for now, he will rank low on these lists due to the injuries that have held him back in the playoffs.