Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid unimpressed with his NBA 2K18 rating

Joel Embiid has found extra motivation for his second season with the Philadelphia 76ers with, in his opinion, a lowly NBA 2K18 rating.

There haven’t been many players in recent memory that have had the impact in just 31 games that Joel Embiid displayed last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

But in the eyes of Embiid, one measurement of his stellar rookie season hasn’t met his lofty expectations.

Just recently, some of the player ratings for the upcoming edition of the NBA 2K18 simulation video game were released. And Embiid was far from impressed.

As is his custom, Embiid took to Twitter express his feelings.

My Durability rating must've not allowed my 2k rating to be at least 95🤔🤔!!!! Gotta work on that #TheProcess
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 18, 2017

As Embiid mentioned, durability has been the only thing holding him back up until this point. After missing his first two seasons in the league with recurring foot issues, Embiid stormed onto the scene last season before an untimely knee injury prematurely ended his year.

According to an early snippet of ratings on Forbes, Embiid earned a rating of 86 for the upcoming NBA2K edition. In an interview on the NBA2K Instagram account, Embiid further detailed why he felt his rating was underwhelming.

"“It’s kind of hard with me, because I felt like last year when I was on the court I was the best defender player in the league. As a big man, I can do everything – shoot threes, post up, handle the ball, playmaker….To be honest, I feel it should be at least 95.”"

When told it was actually 86, Embiid jokingly responded:

"“What? That’s bull#*#.”"

Over his 31 games, Embiid posted 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in just 25.4 minutes per game. Considering Embiid was on a minutes restriction when available, his impact was simply stunning.

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Having won just 10 games for the entire 2015-16 season, the 76ers posted a 10-5 record in January last season, a stage when Embiid was in full flight. Up until his last game for the season on Jan. 27, the 76ers posted a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 99.1 while Embiid was open the floor, which would rank first in the league over the course of last season.

But when Embiid was resting, this number ballooned to 107.7, good for 21st in the league. With these numbers in mind, Embiid’s assertion that he was the best defensive player in the league last season when healthy certainly has merit.

Furthermore, Embiid is not wrong when he states that he can “do everything.” In just 31 games, Embiid had eight games in which he connected on two or more three-pointers, including two games of four three-pointers. Also, playmaking is another area in which Embiid has demonstrated a great affinity, with seven out of his 31 games featuring four or more assists, including three games of five assists.

So with these numbers in mind, and his undeniable impact, it’s little wonder as to why Embiid may feel slighted with the release of these ratings.

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But on the flip side, this may be a real blessing in disguise for all involved with the Sixers. After suffering significant pain over recent seasons, the Sixers having on board an even more motivated and transformational player such as Embiid can only lead to bigger and better things for both the player and the franchise.