Last year, Joel Embiid finally made his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers after missing out the previous two seasons. Despite having a minutes restriction and suffering another injury towards the end of the campaign, he was still able to showcase his impressive skill set and gave the team’s fans a glimpse of the future.
Now that he is closing in on his return and the impending debut of last year’s top pick Ben Simmons, both big men are eager to prove their worth and shut their haters for good. Embiid said, via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press via The Intelligencer. that he is aware of what others have to say about him on social media, and will use their criticism as inspiration to play even better.
“I've seen what everybody's said on Twitter,” Embiid said Monday when the Philadelphia 76ers held their media day. “It doesn't bother me. I love it, I love critics and it just makes me better. I love seeing people say I can't do this and I'm going to go out there and work on it and come back the next game or whenever I can and show that I can do this.”
Simmons on the other hand looks forward to re-introducing himself, like how he did when he first came to the country. Even if he is not being mentioned a lot as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate, he is eager to show everyone that he deserves to be selected first overall last year and that he is going to be a star in the coming years.
“They'll remember,” Simmons said. “I came to the States when I was 15 and nobody knew who I was, so I feel like I'm kind of back at the stage and I got to prove myself again, which is fine. I'm looking forward to that part.”
It is still unclear when the two will see action on the court together, as Embiid is still not cleared to resume 5-on-5 drills yet, but he is on track to play sometime this season. Simmons will be ready for the start of training camp and if everything goes according to plan, he may be ready to play during the team's season opener. It's definitely exciting times for the Philly faithful, and they certainly can't wait to watch the two young big men representing their city.
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