Who Will Take the Fall if 76ers Fail To Win a Championship?

There is so much pressure surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers you can cut the tension with a knife.

As a unit everyone is expected to perform at a high level, but some have bigger responsibilities than the others. There’s one player in particular that has more responsibilities on him than all the others. That player is seven-time all-star Joel Embiid. 

Sure, you could say it’s LeBron James because he joined the team to win another title. But it has to go to the longest-tenured player in Embiid. He has accomplished everything but winning a title. Not only that, but he’s been labeled an injury-prone player. What better way to defy what everyone is saying than winning that elusive NBA championship. If this team doesn’t make it,  the blame falls on Embiid.

When you look at Embiid’s career, there’s nothing he hasn’t accomplished; he’s won an MVP, led the NBA in scoring twice, and made ALL-NBA teams. However, there was an attack on his character when he made a fuss about Nikola Jokic winning back-to-back MVPs, and he thought one of those belonged to him. When Embiid showed emotions over winning an MVP award and then going out and laying an egg in the playoffs, that’s when the clock started to tick for the All-NBA center.

He’s had his fair share of help over the years as well. He’s played with the likes of James Harden and Paul George, and it has resulted in nothing but disappointment. That’s why he stands to lose more than anyone else if this season doesn’t pan out how many expect it to. There's already been an attack on him for a phony claim that he and James got into it over Embiid being late to a practice.

This season Embiid has come into camp in the best shape of his illustrious career. The only problem with that is the lone preseason game that he has played has shown nothing but rust. 

There were moments that proved he is in much better shape, as he was able to move around more fluidly and didn’t seem to be out of gas. The bad thing is, he turned the ball over entirely too much. This plus the poor shooting made his debut a bit lackluster. It’s true that it’s just a preseason game, so it’s only so much taken away from this, but it still matters. How many games until he has his legs under him again? 

It’s for that reason that he has all the blame, which falls on him. If he has just one off night, it could mean a long day filled with media criticism. While he may be used to it, it won’t change the fact that this is Embiid’s year, and if he doesn’t capitalize on it, there may not be another.