Joel Embiid has always been able to respond to criticism and handle adversity

After suffering through hardships parallel with the Philadelphia 76ers’ on-court woes, it’s clear Joel Embiid can handle adversity and external criticism.

The Philadelphia 76ers have always been known to have legendary big men on their roster. From Wilt Chamberlain to Moses Malone to Dikembe Mutombo to finally Joel Embiid, the Sixers have been able to pump out dominant big man after big man.

Embiid was challenged by two legendary big men in their own right. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal said that Embiid needed to step up his production for the Sixers if they were to go to the next level.

Embiid didn’t take it as an insult. He took it as a challenge to get better. We all go through adversity, and it is how we respond to it that makes us who we are.

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Embiid has always been able to respond to adversity in his career and just like a superstar should, he has led the Sixers out of dismal times. The Sixers only won 28 games in the full two seasons that he was out with injury and 28 games the season he came back.

He was highly coveted in the 2014 NBA draft because of his potential talent, and it was said that he was going to be the number one pick.

That draft was supposed to be filled with talent, and it was talked about highly. That draft didn’t produce superstars as much as we thought initially. However, there were still some solid players along with Embiid who turned out to be the unexpected prize of the draft like Andrew Wiggins, Aaron Gordon, T.J. Warren, Zach Lavine, and Marcus Smart.

The big man out of Kansas thought he was going to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick, but to his dismay, he went number three to the Philadelphia 76ers. That was the first challenge in Embiid’s young professional career, and it wouldn’t be the last.

As said before, he sat out two full seasons, and people were starting to talk about him being a bust because it looked like he would never play. It started to look like Andrew Bynum again. Bynum was traded for by the Sixers. He was supposed to help the team make it to the finals. He never played a game for the team because of his injuries.

In the 2016-17 season, Embiid was finally able to play 31 games that season, and people were starting to Trust the Process when they saw his talent. He had guard-like skills with the ability to shoot the 3.

The next year Embiid was able to become an All-Star, and the year after that, he was an All-Star starter. Embiid has gone from being on the bench to become a starter in the All-Star game, possibly year-in and year-out.

He has not had a season where he has not averaged less than 20 points. Also, he averages a double-double for his career as all dominant big men should do.

In the next game after the criticism by Barkley and Shaq against the Sixers’ hated rival Boston Celtics, Embiid was able to score 38 points and grab 13 rebounds.

Everything was forgiven, and Embiid once again was able to handle adversity. If the Sixers are able to go far this season, this is one of the moments worth noting this season.