LeBron James shares what drove him to Philadelphia, and Joel Embiid was one of the reasons.
Joel Embiid has always been one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. One of the biggest knocks on him is his lack of availability. Not just that, but also the fact that he hasn’t won the big one. It’s that reason that LeBron James joined the Philadelphia 76ers. He wants to help the big fella win his first title.
When James talked about how his choice of Philadelphia came down to a few reasons, his final reason and quite possibly the biggest reason was trying to get Embiid to the mountaintop of the NBA.
“He’s done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done and that’s win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one.” James told Steve Nash on the Mind the Game Podcast.
It’s a huge piece to the puzzle of why James wanted to come to the 76ers. While there were plenty of other reasons, this has to be the most noble of them all. Embiid deserves to win a championship, and James believes that as well. Embiid has given everything to this franchise, especially his body. The seven-time all-star and former MVP at least deserves a chance at winning the big one, and James is going to make sure he can do just that.
When James talked about Embiid, there was a different tone. It was with a sense of determination and pride. If anything, knowing that there is someone similar to him, in terms of giving everything for his team, has given James a new fire inside him. A type of fire that may lead to more than one or two seasons in the city of Philadelphia. This may be a conversation for a different day, back to Embiid.
With Embiid, it was speculated that James had some concerns about his injuries, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, Embiid has made it a point to defeat those odds by being in better shape. So much so that he’s slim and ready for the season. James may have had some influence on that, and none of us even know it. It’s easy to assume he did this because of injury, but what if he’s just tired of feeling like everything isn’t enough, and then James and Jaylen Brown joined the team?
These guys may have given Embiid a new life. Even if you want to say that these moves happened after he started getting in shape, there’s no way that the front office hasn’t had any discussions with the star center about what plans they have.
James has changed everyone’s perspective of this team, and now Embiid is his reason for giving it his all. If that happens and Embiid plays his game, this team will be a dominant franchise that makes heads roll.
