Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid has high praise for Isaiah Joe

To paraphrase a very good tweet from a very underrated Twitter user, “How many letters are in Isiah Joe’s last name? 3.”

Most fans of the NBA don’t know second-year Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Isaiah Joe. He’s a former second-round pick, a mid-one at that, who only played 383 minutes for the Sixers in 41 games of action last season and only appeared in one game for the team during their playoff run, where he logged nine minutes of action.

And the ones who do know Joe? Well, they likely know him as a certified shooter with one of the happiest triggers in the NBA, even if his efficiency can look more like Gene Wilder’s left hand than right.

But for those in the know, those who “know ball,” If you will, Joe is oh so much more. He’s an ascending young scorer who can do a little bit of everything and should remain a fixture of the Wells Fargo Center for years to come.

Don’t believe me? Well, don’t just take my word for it; Joel Embiid feels the same way too.

The Philadelphia 76ers may have more than a shooter waiting in the wings.

When asked about his new teammate after the Philadelphia 76ers preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid had a fascinating quote about Isiah Joe (per Clutch Points Kevin McCormick).

“Isaiah [Joe] is someone that I really think has a chance. You got someone that can handle the ball, can shoot the ball, defend. I think he’s going to be in the league for a long time, and he’s going to be really good, so that’s something I’m excited about.”

See what I mean? Talk about a fantastic review.

Starting alongside Joe versus Brooklyn – who played a weird, hybrid point guard role alongside Furkan Korkmaz in Doc Rivers‘ makeshift, point guard-less starting lineup – Embiid got a firsthand look at a future where the pride of Arkansas is not only a rotational player for the Sixers but a legitimate contributor playing hardcore playoff minutes.

Playing off of Embiid, who spent way more time in the paint than usual because of the team’s supreme spacing, Joe drained a team-high five 3s on seven attempts and finished out the game with the second-most points on the team behind Korkmaz, who blew up to the tune of 27 points in 33 minutes of action.

If that was all Joe brought to the table, a range-less 3 point shot, then the Sixers would surely be content with their return on a mid-round second-round pick, but it’s Joe’s ceiling that looks incredibly exciting, especially if he can continue to get bigger and stronger with each passing season.

You see, Joe can dribble. He can drive to the basket, dish the ball well for a wing player, and even finish around the hoop better than comparable players like J.J. Redick and Seth Curry.

To his credit, Joe has also taken leaps forward as a defender. Granted, Joe always put effort in at that end of the court, but he was frequently bullied up on by bigger drivers, which was pretty much every driver during his rookie season, considering he weighted less than everyone from Ish Smith to Carsen Edwards, and even Isaiah Thomas, who is one of the shortest players in the league.

Now weighing in a full 10 pounds heavier than his rookie season – he must have gotten in on the Shake Milton diet – Joe has held up a whole lot better as both a man-on-man defender or in switching situations. Will Joe ever become an All-NBA-level defender? Probably not, as he’d then have Matisse Thybulle out of a job too, but again, Redick and Curry were never more than average defenders, to put it generously, and they earned small fortunately playing basketball even without being max contract players, Joe could carve out a similar NBA niche.

If Joe can follow a similar career trajectory to those two, we may be hearing his name for a very long time.

Shooting at the NBA level has never been in higher demand. Players like Reggie Bullock and Wayne Ellington have carved out very long and fruitful careers, and they can’t do much on the court outside of shooting. If that’s all the Philadelphia 76ers get out of Isaiah Joe, it’ll be swell. But if Joel Embiid is right and the rest of his game fully translates over from the preseason to the pros, it could leave the team with an absolute steal of a second-round pick, even if his reputation takes a little longer to come around.