The All-Star Game is a great place to measure one’s stature in the NBA and the Sixers’ Joel Embiid did just that after participating for the first time. In the waning moments of the game between Team LeBron and Team Stephen, Embiid was on the floor instead of his more illustrious comrades.

There was Stephen Curry, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, and Embiid during crunch time when the game could have gone either way. On several occasions, Team Stephen went to Embiid to take advantage of the mismatch in height and he delivered.

Team LeBron eventually eked out a 148-145 win, but not before everyone witnessed how good the Sixers’ cornerstone player really is. Joel Embiid had 19 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Not bad for someone who only played for 20 minutes.

Joel Embiid
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Ryan Nagelhout of UPROXX wrote about Embiid’s thoughts when he was interviewed after the game.

“During the whole season I kind of thought that I was a top five, top 10 player in the league,” Embiid said. “And coming in here in the game I wanted confirmation of it and I felt like I can hang with them. But I had a lot of fun.”

The Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant, who played for Team LeBron, was heaping praises on Embiid, but added a qualifier as to how soon he will dominate the league.

“He’s skilled for his size. He can shoot the three. He can dribble. He developed his skills over time and he wants it,” Durant said. “He’s a great player. He’s definitely a guy that you respect. He’s going to take over this league here once I’m done.”

No matter when he does it, Embiid’s inaugural All-Star appearance has shown that he definitely belongs with the best players in the game.

So far this season, Embiid is averaging 23.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.