Joel Embiid doesn’t want to spend another June in the lottery. In June of 2018, the Philadelphia 76ers big man wants to be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Joel Embiid on @espn
"I want to win a championship next year…
My teammates, they just got to follow my lead"#TheProcess pic.twitter.com/c4A09P9zsT
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 12, 2017
That’s certainly a lofty goal.
Of course, staying on the floor will be important. Embiid was drafted in 2014, but missed all of his first two NBA seasons with injury. He finally got to the court in the 2016-17 season, but played all of 31 games. Ben Simmons, who was 2016’s first overall pick, missed his entire rookie season. Even Markelle Fultz, 2017’s No. 1 overall pick, got hurt in Summer League action, though he appears to be fine.
None of that even considers that LeBron James led teams have represented the Eastern Conference in seven straight NBA Finals, that the Golden State Warriors are an absolute juggernaut out west, or that while the 76ers won 28 games in 2016-17.
Embiid may want to win a championship this coming season. But to make that even a realistic possibility, a lot of highly unlikely things will need to happen.