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Joel Embiid and injuries have been synonymous with one another. The Philadelphia 76ers star has endured his fair share of injuries throughout his career. Most notably, Embiid said he believes he needs another knee surgery to be where he needs to be. However, his trainer, Drew Hanlen, has been supportive of his recovery amid the injuries.
He explained on The Hoop Collective Podcast that he's fighting for his star player.
“I’ve been recently fighting for him in a time when nobody is fighting for Joel,” Hanlen said. “Just because I think that a lot of people are like, oh, he’s lazy, that’s why he’s injured right now because he’s lazy. I always have to rewind and say, guys, this guy picked up a basketball at the age of 16, you’ve seen the viral clips of him playing JV basketball down at Montverde.
“Catching a ball, taking a dribble, and being like, oh shoot, I’m behind the backboard. Now, fast forward a decade later, he’s a scoring champ, an MVP, and one of the most dominant players of all time. I’m like, you don’t magically become good at basketball.”
Hanlen is one of the top trainers in the NBA. He works with Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, to name a few. He points out that Joel Embiid gets labeled lazy because of his ongoing injuries. To not pick up a basketball until age 16 and become the player he has, you have to outwork everyone else.
Drew Hanlen supports what Joel Embiid is doing for the 76ers
Two seasons prior, Embiid won the MVP award, marking the first of his career. However, his journey began much later than others. He started playing basketball at 16 years old. If someone were to watch a game of his, they couldn't tell he started basketball so late.
The 76ers star came into the NBA with a foot injury that had him missing his rookie year. At that point, it was going to be hard to overcome the injury label. Now, at age 30, he has taken a lot of wear and tear in his career to try and maintain his career for a 7-footer.
As a result, Hanlen hopes that many will see how dedicated he was despite his injuries.
“One day when he tells his story and people actually realize all the work that he’s put in and all the things that he’s played through, people are going to be like, well, if you just told us we would have been on your side like we had no idea,” Hanlen said.
If Embiid can bounce back fully from his injuries, he'll remain as one of the league's elite.
