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On a late-summer afternoon in 2016, Joel Embiid is throwing a fit -- and Elton Brand is catching it.
For weeks, Embiid has been dominating pickup games at the Sixers' old practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. After losing the first two seasons of his career to a broken bone in his right foot, he's spent months refining the exquisite footwork that would, in short order, propel him to almost instant stardom. But for now, in this gym, the chore of defending Embiid down low is the burden of none other than Brand -- a 37-year-old who's just played out a veterans minimum contract for what will ultimately become the last season of his 17-year career.