Every NBA fan remembers the Greg Oden, picked first in the draft but failed to live to his potential to be one the best centers in history as injuries robbed him of his playing time. And as history likes to repeat itself, the curse of Greg Oden is now in Philadelphia in Joel Embiid.
Joel Embiid played his first NBA game this season after again missing his second season due to injuries and was mostly playing well despite the minute restrictions. He was even named a player of the week for January for his stellar performance. Then again, bad luck is always around the corner for the center as a torn meniscus will force him to sit for the rest of the season.
Like Greg Oden, Joel Embiid was touted to become one of the best centers in the NBA. Unfortunately, like Greg Oden, Joel Embiid missed a couple of seasons due to injuries.
Joel Embiid and Greg Oden were both great when they were playing. But their fragile bodies made playing a constant risk. Joel Embiid has 3 major injuries in three seasons which led Colin Cowherd calling him today's Greg Oden.
When comparing the two, Greg Oden played more games in at this point in his career than Joel Embiid. Greg Oden played 82 games as compared to Joel Embiid's 31 games in three season. This makes Embiid's situation much worse than Oden.
To make things more complicated, Joel Embiid is up for a contract extension. This will put pressure on Philadelphia on singing a center with huge potential but has an uncertain future. Letting him walk on the other hand might be a cause of regret if Joel Embiid flourishes after.
For now, the best that Philadelphia can do sign Joel Embiid to a one-year contract just to see how he would fare after recovering. They still have Ben Simmons and Jahlil Okafor as prospects who can turn out to be great players so losing Joel Embiid to injuries wouldn't be much of a problem.
The 76ers have forever been in rebuild mode it's about time they see some results. If Joel Embiid fails to impress, it's best to let him go.
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