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Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown has an interesting way of describing Sixers star big man Joel Embiid.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Brown said Embiid is “Shaquille O’Neal with soccer feet.”
“Joel is Shaquille O’Neal with soccer feet” – Brett Brown
— Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) September 25, 2019
When he was coming out of Kansas back in 2014, draft experts kept marveling at Joel Embiid's footwork. The two-time All-Star is a pretty good soccer player, but it's his footwork which allows him to move really well laterally on defense and score off the dribble instead of just bullying players like Shaquille O’Neal did in his prime.
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Embiid has established himself as arguably the best center in the NBA. Last season for the Sixers, Embiid played in 64 games. He averaged 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 blocks while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 30.0 percent from beyond the arc and 80.4 percent from the free-throw line.
The next step for Embiid is to become more consistent with his 3-point game. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said in July he wants Embiid to get in better shape, too. Embiid recently revealed he lost around 25 pounds this summer.
The Sixers have a really good shot at winning the Eastern Conference in 2019-20 now that Kawhi Leonard is out West on the Los Angeles Clippers. The team will ultimately go as far as Embiid can take them.
