After Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid officially wrapped up his first stint as an NBA All-Star in Los Angeles on Sunday night, he wanted to assure people that Sixers rookie point guard Ben Simmons' time to play in the All-Star Game will come by next year.
“It just means that ‘The Process' is paying off. I'm not the only one and we've got a lot of potential,” Embiid said. “I think by next year, Ben should get here. We've got Markelle (Fultz) coming along pretty soon, so it's like sunny times in Philly with the Super Bowl win and us doing great. We've just got to keep it going.”
Embiid had quite an impressive All-Star debut on Sunday night. In just 20 minutes, he racked up 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds and two blocked shots for Team Stephen. Unfortunately, Embiid's strong effort wasn't enough as Team LeBron held on for a thrilling 148-145 win.
“It was kind of weird for me. It was special to me because of everything I've been through but at the same time I was kind of nervous being around them because they've been in the league for a long time,” Embiid said of his first All-Star Game appearance.
"It just means that 'The Process' is paying off… by next year, Ben should get here." – @JoelEmbiid after his first #NBAAllStar Game
🎙: @KristenLedlow pic.twitter.com/Pvw76qIGRd
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2018
Simmons was close to making it as an All-Star this season as a 21-year-old rookie, but was seemingly one of those players that got snubbed of a spot. In 54 starts this season, Simmons is averaging 16.4 points on 52.7 percent shooting from the field, 7.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in roughly 34.9 minutes of action per contest.
The Sixers (30-25) get to enjoy their All-Star break for a few more days before they hit the road to take on the Chicago Bulls (20-37) on Thursday night at the United Center.
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