I have pretty much been one of the biggest haters of what the Philadelphia 76ers have become. They have, for the past 4 years, put players on an NBA floor that don't even belong on a D-League court. They have been so open with their tanking, it has become a joke. They trade away decent, young players for, as they put it, "assets". We all know it as more picks. They even draft guys that aren't ready, injured or play overseas and do not have to get out of their contracts for a few years. They also have traded some young players for younger players that have already flamed out in their very short NBA careers.

For example, they traded to get Nik Stauskas last year. He never really got a chance in Sacramento, but as much as I want him to succeed, he is a middling bench player at the absolute best. He is the poor man's JJ Redick, without the mediocre defense, or the shot, and everyone knows how I feel about JJ Redick. Then, we have guys like Nerlens Noel, a good defender, but has zero offensive game and had a torn ACL when they drafted him, Jahlil Okafor, zero defensive game, they already have multiple players that play the same position as him and he is a bit of a head case and Dario Saric, who was drafted, it seems, like 10 years ago, and is now, finally, in the NBA and looks like he still has a long, long way to go before he is a decent player. Their number pick, and first overall in the most recent draft, Ben Simmons, has yet to play in the NBA due to a foot injury as well. 

This all leads me to Joel Embiid. This is another guy that they drafted, with the third overall pick 3 years ago, that had a known foot injury and that he wouldn't be able to play right away. It seemed as if the 76ers were at it again. Taking a player that wouldn't be able to contribute anything at all for at least one year, so they could tank again, and have another shot at the number one pick in the following draft. I get it, teams want young players that they can develop, but at some point, you have to get some veterans on your roster to help out the young guys. The 76ers kept putting it off though, until they finally, and mercifully, parted ways with Sam Hinkie, AKA, Mr. "Trust the Process".

Well, all his moves seemed terrible, that is, until this most recent season started. Don't get me wrong, Hinkie was an absolute train wreck as a GM and owner, but Embiid looks like he might be the real deal. It looks like he may have gotten at least one thing right in his four years tearing down a historic franchise. But, man oh man does Embiid look like a legitimate perennial all star. I tuned in on opening night to see him play, because like everyone else, I was interested in what we would get, and he did not disappoint. This was the first time he had played a real game of basketball in about 3 years, and he looked great. Sure, he took some unnecessary shots, got some dumb fouls and only played 20 minutes, but he also did some wonderful things on the floor that night. He had an incredible spin move on Steven Adams, one of the better big men defenders in the NBA, and hit a pull up jumper on him. Embiid is 7'1 and he looked like a 6'2 shooting guard on that play. He also tracked down rebounds, loose balls, played very good, to great defense at times and looked like he had some very good footwork. He has also added some appropriate weight, and it showed when he muscled up some of the Thunder's big men that night.

So, I thought, he looked okay on opening night, but could he keep it up? Well, he has only seemed to get better. He is becoming a very good scorer in the low post. His chase down block on LeBron, whether it was goal tending or not, was an amazing feat, given his size, and the fact that it was against the best player in the game. He seems to have the desire and passion and even swagger to be one of the league's next big things. When he was still on his 20-minute limit restriction, he was so angry that he couldn't play in a double overtime game, he kicked a chair. I like to see that from young players. The 76ers have upped his minutes to 28 a game, pretty typical for a starter in the NBA, and I think it will only help him get that much better. 

Look, the 76ers still stink, I think they have 4 or 5 wins, but there is, at the very least, some hope for optimism. Joel Embiid has taken on the responsibility of being the player to build this team around. He wants to be "the guy". He has even started calling himself, "The Process". I usually do not like when people give themselves nicknames, but this one is just way too perfect to dislike. I actually find myself excited when I stumble on a 76ers game on TV, and Embiid is in there. That is about the only time I will watch them play. I just really like what I have seen from Embiid so far, and if he continues on this path, gets better and figures out the game even more, I think he will be a legitimate superstar, and the one guy that can turn the 76ers back into a relevant team. He is that good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. On this day in SeedSing history, the greatest thing on the internets was born. Wish Ty a happy birthday by following him on instagram and twitter.

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