Ranking the top 50 NBA players of the 2021-22 season: 10-1

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Top 50 NBA players ranked: 8. Joel Embiid

Previous Rank: 14

For much of the season, Joel Embiid was neck and neck with eventual MVP Nikola Jokic. He was the driving force on the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Embiid was a two-way force that for most of the season stayed healthy and dominated everyone in front of him. An ill-timed injury removed him from MVP contention. Then came another early exit in the playoffs and the explosion of the remnants of the Process chemistry experiment.

Now more than ever it is all on Embiid. Simmons is back with the team, but more than likely that is just in appearances and not in production. Until the roster is reshaped with a trade the path forward will depend on Embiid looking like the player he was last season. Over 51 games the star averaged 28.5 points (fourth in the league), 10.6 rebounds (11th), 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.

If nothing else during the vocal offseason, Embiid has made it abundantly clear that this is his team and now is the time to win. He wants everyone around him to buy in at the same level he has. If you are not on the same page, you will not be on his good side for long. Should the Philadelphia 76ers make a splash with the eventual Simmons trade, Embiid may finally get his wish granted.