Kawhi Leonard, Jonathan Isaac top first NBA Defensive Player of the Year ladder
By Phil Watson
joel embiid. 4. player. 93. . .
Joel Embiid is staying on the floor with more frequency than he has in his career to date with the Philadelphia 76ers, playing in 22 of the club’s 27 games thus far this season.
He’s averaging 9.9 defensive rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks in 30.7 minutes per game. While his block numbers are down from last season’s 1.9 per game, Embiid is still making his presence felt.
His 2.4 percent block rate ranks in the 67th percentile among bigs, while his 1.2 percent steal rate is in the 61st percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. An overlooked part of defensive play is sometimes the ability to close out the possession by rebounding the missed shot, something Embiid does as well as anyone.
He hits the defensive glass on missed shots in the 98th percentile with a 27.9 percent rate and is in the 81st percentile off missed free throws.
In the restricted area, Embiid concedes 58.9 percent on 15.9 attempts against him per game and his impact on the 76ers’ defense is very noticeable when he’s not on the court. Philadelphia has a defensive rating of 95.6 with Embiid, a figure that skyrockets to 107.4 without him.