Despite the success in his lone year at Kansas, there were many question marks surrounding Joel Embiid when the Sixers first drafted him. The 20-year-old Cameroon native had begun playing basketball just five years earlier, was questioned for his commitment to basketball, and faced a navicular fracture that had crippled the career of NBA players such as Yao Ming.
After observing the meteoric rise that Embiid’s career has taken, it is interesting to reflect on these previous concerns. However, Joel Embiid did not grow into the superstar he currently is by an accident.