On that shocking day on February 11, 2022, James Harden, a legendary player, made a major free market trade with 76ers key player Ben Simmons like a hero.
At this moment, the eyes of 76ers center Embiid couldn't help but moisten, and his heart was full of anticipation and joyFor years, he has dreamed of having a scorer like Harden as his teammate and fight for victory together.
When he saw Harden appear on the court wearing a 76ers jersey, tears welled up in his eyes, and endless joy swelled deep in his heart.
"Harden is definitely the best teammate I've had in my career so far!" Embiid couldn't contain his excitement, his words full of admiration and gratitude for Harden.
For Embiid, who is already full of ambition, the arrival of Harden is undoubtedly a shot in the arm, giving him a stronger confidence to challenge for championship honors.
In the rest of the season, the two gradually formed a tacit cooperation, and Embiid showed amazing strength on the court, averaging 30.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game MVP-level stats, leading the team to the playoffs with a proud 51-31 record.
However, in the middle of the playoffs opener, an unfortunate omen struck. Embiid accidentally left the court with an injury, and the 76ers' lineup was severely affected in the subsequent game, and finally was ruthlessly swept by the opponent in the second round, and once again missed the opportunity to enter the Eastern Conference finals.
After the game, Embide said firmly: "Today's Harden is no longer the same Harden who used to play for the Houston Rockets." The comment was widely controversial, with some arguing that he was passing the buck, but Embiid never gave any explanation for it.
In fact, he was filled with frustration because he knew that there was still a long way to go before the championship trophy was reached.
It all goes back a few years. When Embiid was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014, his career was hit hard. First he suffered a back injury and was unable to participate in the tournament, and then he accidentally fractured his right foot in training and needed surgery, and is expected to rest for up to half a year.
These successive blows almost made the young player lose his love for basketball. Joel Embiid was born on March 15, 1994 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
For this African country, basketball is still very unfamiliar, Embiid has lived in a strict family education environment since he was a child, and has no connection with sports.
His father was a high-ranking military officer and his mother came from a prominent family who expected their son to devote himself to his studies rather than wasting his time on sports.
It wasn't until 2009, when 15-year-old Embiid happened to watch an NBA Finals game on television, that he was first drawn to the intense sport.
The tall and burly athletes fought the field, sweating every drop of sweat, and their heroic deeds and steadfast perseverance were comparable to those of the warriors in war, which was eye-catching.
"It turns out that basketball can be played like this!" Embiid's eyes flashed with excitement, and the fire of love for basketball burned in his heart.
He began to watch game footage in secret, delving into the technical characteristics of the stars, especially Kobe Bryant as his idol.
However, Embiid did not reveal his dream to his parents, because he knew that they would never agree.
As a result, Embiid buried his love for basketball deep in his heart and devoted himself to his studies, lest he be criticized by others. However, fate is always cruel and gentle.
Just when Embiid was preparing to spend his life in obscurity like this, the appearance of a person completely changed the trajectory of his life.
One day in 2011, Cameroonian NBA player Luke Richard Bamot came to Embiid's school, and after seeing him with an astonishing height of 2.1 meters, he did not hesitate to extend an invitation to him: "Young man, would you like to join my basketball camp?
At first, Embiid still rejected Bamot's kindness, but it was a personal visit from the training camp staff the next day that made him decide to devote himself to the sport.
Since then, Embiid's life has changed dramatically.
In 2011, the gifted teenager, who was once hailed as a five-star high school student, was discovered and sent to the United States. However, for him, who had never received systematic training, struggling on a foreign court for the first time was like a lost child.
Embiid recalled: "At that time, I was thin, my game was clumsy, and what was more painful was that my teammates used to sneer at me. The first time he participated in the team practice game, he was severely criticized by his seniors, which made him deeply aware of the huge gap between college basketball and high school.
That night, Embiid ran to the coach's office in tears and expressed his inner fear: "I can't do it, you can't let me play against these good players, I can't go back to the basketball court."
Seeing that the young man who was once known as a future superstar was about to fall into deep confusion and struggle, their coach calmly and calmly told him: "You know what? In my heart, you are the bright star of tomorrow, and even indicates that you will become the top pick in the NBA draft in the future!"
These words were like a hammer, and they woke up Embiid's inferiority complex in his heart. Since then, he has been determined to stay in the United States and give it his all and sweat it out in the NCAA.
Embiid has an extraordinary ability to learn, and he began to devote himself to improving his skills and tactics, whether it is his footwork under the basket, back-to-back singles, or mid-to-long-range projection, he has incorporated it into his daily training plan.
It wasn't long before Embiid showed off his incredible prowess. In his sophomore year, he averaged 13 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, making the spotlight, and by his senior year, he led the team to a state-level championship.
In just a few years, this teenager from Africa has transformed from an ignorant teenager who knows nothing about basketball to a well-known basketball genius.
Once in college, Embiid was never knocked out, despite being plagued by injuries repeatedly. On the contrary, with his indomitable willpower, he completed self-redemption.
In 2014, Embiid announced his participation in the NBA draft, a brave decision that also opened a new chapter in his life.
In 2014, Embiid, who was plagued by injuries, was finally drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers and officially stepped into the NBA stage. However, when everyone was questioning whether he could return to the top, he used tenacious perseverance and firm belief to regain his confidence step by step.
Although Embiid had to stay away from the court for long periods of time when he first joined the 76ers, he never gave up training. Every day, he dragged his injured right foot to the training gym with great difficulty, and underwent a grueling rehab session.
He's working harder than anyone else, he's more focused than anyone else, just to be able to get back on the field and show his talent again.
Finally, the opportunity came. In the 2016-17 season, Embiid, wearing the dark blue jersey of the 76ers, officially debuted. At this moment, his heart was full of excitement and anticipation, but also accompanied by a little nervousness and uneasiness.
After two years out of action, he feared that the fans would be disappointed in him. But the moment he stepped onto the court, the packed home crowd applauded him, and the unwavering support of the 76ers fans brought tears to his eyes.
In his career debut, Embiid played just 25 minutes, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, fully demonstrating his impeccable technical and tactical qualities on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Since then, he has continued to excel in form, winning the Eastern Conference Rookie Player of the Month award for three consecutive months, averaging an astonishing 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season, and being named to the rookie team.
Despite failing to win the Rookie of the Year crown, the 76ers did not hesitate to offer Embiid a five-year contract with a maximum salary of $148 million to lock him in early as the team's future core leader.
Since then, Embiid's career has been like a bright shooting star, unstoppable. He's strong but nimble on the inside, he's a combination of strength and skill on the perimeter, and he's tough and powerful defensively, and he's a master of blocking.
All of these outstanding performances have made him quickly rise to become one of the top interior superstars in the NBA.
In the 2017-18 season, Embiid averaged 22.9 points and 11 rebounds per game to lead the team to the playoffs, and in 2018-19, he averaged 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, winning two team honors and reaching new heights.
People even boldly predicted that as long as he is in good physical condition, Embiid will quickly become the undisputed hegemon of the NBA's interior line.
Sadly, however, the dream of a championship has not yet been realized. However, Embiid is undoubtedly a shining light for loyal fans of the 76ers, and they are full of endless hopes and anticipation for the future of the most outstanding interior giant in the team's history.
Despite their stats and performances, Embiid and the 76ers have never been able to make a breakthrough in the playoffs. In order to achieve the grand goal of the championship, the team continued to strengthen the squad, but in the end failed to break the curse.
In the 2018-19 season, in order to compete for the championship, the 76ers spared no expense to bring in a number of outstanding players such as Embiid, Simmons, Butler, Harris and Redick.
This squad is strong and full of heroes.
Embiid once again showed an extraordinary performance at the MVP level, but when they met the Raptors in the second round, the two sides battled for seven games, and Leonard scored the winning goal in the final minute, and the 76ers lost regrettably.
Embiid was in tears on the court, and he swapped his social media profile picture for a tearful photo of himself, perhaps the closest he got to a championship in his career so far.
"It's been a crazy season, and it's a bit of a disappointment because I didn't achieve my goals, but it's a big source of motivation for me to keep going.
In the 2019-20 season, although the Philadelphia 76ers' roster was further enhanced, their team chemistry did not fully develop, and the team was swept out of the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and the head coach was fired as a result, and various trade rumors followed.
Faced with such a dilemma, Embiid bravely stepped up and made it clear that he was willing to stay in the city and work together with his current teammates to fight for the future.
In the 2020-21 season, under the careful guidance of coach Doug Rivers, Embiid's personal data continued to soar, and he successfully made it to the All-Star team, averaging 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, while the team's overall performance also improved significantly.
However, in the playoffs, they once again failed in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Embiid's heart was full of endless trouble.
Entering the 2021-22 season, the addition of Harden undoubtedly took the 76ers to the next level, Embiid handed in a career-high 30.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, but they were once again disappointed in the second round of the playoffs and missed the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the face of successive failures, Embiid's inner frustration can be imagined. After the game, he shocked the outside world with a 180-degree twist on Harden's once-praised-words.
However, no matter what the difficulties are encountered, the championship is always Embiid's greatest dream and motivation to move forward.
As we look back at Embiid's storied journey from African teenager to NBA superstar, we can't help but be struck by his perseverance and love for basketball.
He perfectly interpreted the profound connotation of "life is like a play" with practical actions, and wrote his own glorious legend in this epic chapter of basketball.
Embiid was born in 1994 into an ordinary family in Cameroon that had little to do with basketball. Since childhood, he has been exposed to the harsh family education environment, and learning has become the only focus of his life, and he has gradually distanced himself from sports.
It wasn't until 2009, when he had the chance to watch the NBA Finals, that his heart was completely ignited by the sport.
Since then, Embiid has been tirelessly learning basketball knowledge and silently worshipping his idol Kobe. In 2011, the gods of fate finally reached out to him, and at the age of 16, he was discovered and left for the United States, where he embarked on his basketball journey.
The newcomer Embiid was overwhelmed like a lost child, and was ridiculed by his teammates and reprimanded by his coach. He fell into despair many times and even wanted to give up, but he persevered, grew up on the NCAA court, and eventually became a basketball genius in the world.
In 2014, Joel Embiid joined the Philadelphia 76ers as the top pick, however, fate played a cruel joke on him - he suffered a series of serious injuries one after another, and his NBA journey was once facing a hopeless dilemma.
Some people even predicted that his championship dream would always stay in the unattainable distance, however, with perseverance and incomparably strong inner strength, Embiid successfully completed self-redemption and gradually grew from a young rookie to the top interior superstar in the NBA league!
Since 2017, Embiid's personal data and accolades have exploded, averaging more than 20 points per game, rebounding more than 10, and winning the All-Team and All-Defensive Team honors for two consecutive years.
Sadly, however, the team has never been able to make a major breakthrough in the playoffs, falling to the threshold of the semifinals on several occasions.
In order to realize the championship dream in their hearts, the 76ers have continuously strengthened the roster during Embiid's career, and have introduced a number of powerful stars, such as Ben Simmons, James Harden and others.
However, despite the team's significant improvement, the championship dream still failed to materialize, which undoubtedly caused Embiid a deep frustration.
In particular, the brief cooperation with Harden ended in failure. The post-game remarks seemed to imply that Embiid's expectations for Harden had been lowered to their lowest point.
However, even so, we don't see that Embiid will give up on his pursuit of the championship dream because of this: "This season is too competitive, and although we didn't achieve the desired goal, it only motivates me to move forward more determined," Embiid said firmly after the game.
For the 28-year-old inside behemoth, his career is just getting started. As long as he maintains good physical condition, he will be able to continue to chase that great dream and climb to the top of the NBA for many years to come.
Life is like a basketball drama with ups and downs, and Embiid perfectly interprets this truth with his own personal experience. From an ignorant teenager from Africa, to being discovered and embarking on a journey to a foreign land, from being unknown to becoming a superstar in the world, from injury after injury, to constantly surpassing himself and creating a brilliant chapter in life.
This drama has not yet come to an end, on the contrary, it has just begun.