Top 5 in 2014: Biggest ‘What Ifs?’ in Philadelphia Sports

2.) What If Joel Embiid Never Injured his Foot?

Sep 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during media day at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

No other item on this list has more implications on a grand scale than the pre-draft foot injury to Kansas center and consensus top prospect Joel Embiid. Playing alongside the preseason favorite for the top spot in the draft, Embiid stole the spotlight from Andrew Wiggins as far as being the apple of lottery teams’ eyes. His Olajuwon-esque offensive game paired with his shot-blocking ability and tantalizing ceiling made Embiid the most sought-after big man prospect since Greg Oden. Though his lone season at Kansas would be cut short by a nagging back injury, there was little doubt that Embiid had supplanted both Wiggins and Duke’s Jabari Parker as the likely choice for the first overall pick in one of the more anticipated NBA drafts in the 21st century.

At first, the Sixers unfortunate lottery result of selecting 3rd overall did not seem so bad considering the consensus that there were three elite prospects. Many figured the Cavaliers, recipients of the first overall selection, would take Embiid leaving Parker and Wiggins to Milwaukee and Philadelphia. There were even some who thought that, given his midwestern roots and polished scoring game, Parker would be the Bucks selection leaving Wiggins to fall into the 76ers laps. It was no secret that Sam Hinkie and the Philadelphia regime pined for the Kansas swing-man and had targeted him since early in the 2013-2014 season.

Just days before the NBA Draft, news started to trickle out that Embiid had suffered an injury during perhaps his final workout. Sure enough, after sifting through all of the details, the worst news possible regarding the Cameroonian big man came to surface.

A broken navicular bone, the same injury that derailed Yao Ming’s NBA career, was discovered and the shockwaves were as expected. Milwaukee openly stated they would not draft Embiid and, though they postured over it for a bit, Cleveland had no reason to pass up on their pick of the two remaining prospects. The Sixers ‘tanking’ in 2013-2014 had blown up in their face like we all dreaded it would

On draft night, trade rumors ran rampant that the Sixers were putting together a colossal deal to move up from three to one in order to draft Wiggins. Nothing came of the speculation, however, and Wiggins would be the first overall selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Parker came off the board second and the spotlight shifted to the Sixers. They were faced with the decision to either select a lesser prospect (Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon, or Marcus Smart) or for the second straight year select a player who probably would not suit up for them all of the following season. The Sixers opted for the latter, selecting Joel Embiid 3rd overall.

Due to a tape delay, it initially looked as if Embiid was miserable with his landing spot. When all of that was cleared up, the start of a love affair between Philadelphia and a teenager who would not take the court through the end of 2014 started.

It’s fascinating to think of the impact Embiid’s injury had on the NBA landscape. Would the Cavaliers have traded for Kevin Love with a healthy Embiid in the fold? I imagine not. LeBron James would have been playing with the most impressive big man in his entire career and the rookie would have been able to develop alongside the greatest player in the world. Who knows what other possible personnel decisions were impacted by the fact that Embiid was not going to Cleveland.

From a 76ers standpoint, a healthy Embiid would have meant them most likely landing their franchise scoring option for the future. Regardless of whether it was Jabari Parker or Wiggins, the organization would have had the star-caliber talent they could hitch their wagon to and appease a fanbase that had just gone through one of the more miserable seasons in Philadelphia sports. One has to wonder if they still would have opted for shifting their second pick around to land Dario Saric or brought in an NBA-ready player to play alongside their first selection.

As enjoyable as it has been to witness Embiid’s antics and his apparent love for his situation in Philadelphia, the results of the 2014 Draft pushed back the organization’s plans a whole year. It’s possible that, if Embiid is the player people project him to be, they’ll be able to make up the time with his ascension to one of the top centers in the game. From the standpoint of the here and now, however, drafting Embiid meant putting the team, coaching staff, and fanbase through another year of losing a whole lot of games. It means allocating their two highest drafted players in the past two drafts toward players who are somewhat similar in Nerlens Noel and Embiid. Coach Brett Brown has come out and said he expected to be piecing together a roster with Andrew Wiggins on it and now has to divert his plan toward building around a pair of big men and Dario Saric whenever he gets here. Embiid’s future is a tantalizing one and, should he remain healthy, he has a chance to be the best player of the 2014 draft. That said, there’s no question that him suffering an injury days before the draft had a ripple effect in Philadelphia sports and the NBA in its whole unlike any other in 2014.