Joel Embiid has continued to make a lot of new fans because of his hilarious and playful antics on social media. One of the more recent ones was when he trolled Chandler Parsons after the Memphis Grizzlies small forward posted a video of him warming up for their preseason matchup. Many believed that the 22-year-old Cameroonian international simply took a shot at Parsons, but what they didn't know is that the two are really good friends.
It may seem odd how they became friends as they never played together in the same team and didn't go to the same school, but Embiid and Parsons share a lengthy history of injuries that have plagued their careers so far and it has strengthened their bond.
The Philadelphia 76ers center missed the past two seasons after a pair of foot injuries while Parsons just came off arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Drawing strength from one another, Embiid had this to say on the advice his friend has given him:
“That’s my guy. That’s one of my best friends. We always joke around. He helped me. I think he was hurt at the same time. He told me, take my time, make sure you don’t push anything.”
His words of encouragement and guidance have not gone to waste as Parsons said Embiid is a good listener and has been taking his rehab seriously.
“Him coming off surgery and me coming off surgery, he asked me a lot of questions about the recovery. He’s an awesome listener. … A lot of guys kind of get complacent, get used to being hurt, don’t work as hard. But he takes his rehab very, very seriously and he takes care of his body. He does all the right things and you see it paying off now with the success he’s hard early this season.”
“He’s always happy, he’s always smiling. He takes basketball very seriously. He has fun on social media and things like that. I think some people kind of take it the wrong way sometimes, but he’s just being himself and he’s not going to mold into this square that people try to make him. He’s going to be himself, he’s going to have fun. He’s just happy and fortunate he plays basketball for a living.”
Now that Embiid has been able to showcase his talents in the NBA, the 28-year-old Florida product could not be any more proud of him and even went as far as saying he can be one of the league's best centers when healthy.
“Knowing everything he went through and basically how devastated he was for those two, three years, just to see the success he’s had now makes me happy. I know how hard he worked, I know how good he can be, and he’s finally starting to show it. When he’s healthy, he’s a top five center in the NBA.”
It may be surprising to find out they are very good friends, but given what they both had to go through to get to this point of their careers, it just goes to show how much each other has been instrumental to their recoveries.
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