Philadelphia 76ers: 5 goals for Joel Embiid in 2017-18

3. Maintain defensive impact

Embiid’s defensive impact in his rookie season was simply remarkable.

As outlined earlier, the difference in the Sixers’ defensive numbers when Embiid was on and off the court was startling. For the Sixers to now possess a player who transforms the team into a league-leading defense when he is the court is simply invaluable.

Aside from his instincts and incredible athleticism, it’s Embiid willingness to exert himself on the defensive end of the floor that sets him apart. For the season, Embiid averaged 12.2 contested shots per game, ranking first on the Sixers’ roster despite averaging just 25.4 minutes per game.

On a per 36 minutes basis, this equated to 17.3 contests, good for seventh among centers who averaged at least 16 minutes per game.

Overall, Embiid had 12 games in which he blocked three or more shots. Furthermore, Embiid recorded seven games of two or more steals, which included two games of three steals. Despite his seven-foot frame, Embiid’s incredible versatility enables him to affect the game at this end of the floor run a multitude of ways, thus providing incredible flexibility for head coach Brett Brown and the lineups he’s able to utilize.

Following a victory over the Toronto Raptors this season, Raptors’ head coach Dwane Casey was in awe of Embiid’s physical gifts:

"“He is physical, has size, athletic ability, like a young Shaq coming into the league….His athletic ability, his quickness, his speed for his size, his ability to get where he wants to go off the dribble, he is a tremendous problem on both ends of the floor because defensively he is moving his feet to protect the rim and is also running the floor.”"

Considering these numbers, and Casey’s sentiments, once Embiid gathers more experience and knowhow, it’s mind-blowing to think of the impact he may have on this end of the floor moving forward.