CAMDEN, N.J. — Joel Embiid has always had the Philadelphia 76ers' chase for a championship fresh on his mind. Entering the 2024-25 season, the superstar center is putting it front and center.
Winning the 2022-23 MVP award has been the pinnacle of Embiid's career in the league. For as spectacular of an achievement as that is — especially for someone with such a rocky, treacherous path to the NBA — it doesn’t qualify him for basketball immortality the way a championship does. The ultimate glory still eludes him.
Entering the 2024-25 season, Embiid is making it crystal clear which trophy is his priority. The taste of victory he got this summer with the gold medal has motivated him even more. His commitment to getting in better shape serves as the best piece of evidence that he's locking all the way in on having a long season that ends in triumph.
“As soon as we lost [in the playoffs] last year, I just texted [Daryl Morey] we got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason, I'm healthy,” Embiid said. “This year is all about [how] there's no agenda, no All-Star, no All-NBA, there's none of that,” he said. “It's whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point and that I'm ready to go.”
Sixers star Joel Embiid talks about how he’s feeling physically and the importance of being healthy when the postseason arrives. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/TK6NwggCrL
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) September 30, 2024
Joel Embiid leads 76ers' quest for the championship
Not only did Embiid slim down, claiming to have lost 25-to-30 pounds this offseason but he's continuing to focus on uplifting his teammates, recognizing that helping them helps him even more. Tyrese Maxey, in particular, will be encouraged to take the lead in certain spots.
“My job for this year is to empower those guys, especially Tyrese,” Embiid said. “I think there's another step he can take and he's going to take it. I think my job is to just go out there and just let him be the guy because I know that at some point, when it comes down to it, he's going to come in handy. Same thing with Paul and some of the other guys that we added.”
The 76ers pounced on the rare opportunity to land a player of Paul George's caliber in the offseason. The core of this roster is set in stone for years to come, a rarity for this team. Consistency of the roster, Embiid said, was his one major demand. It's additionally refreshing to, as Daryl Morey put it, only deal with challenges related to basketball this time around.
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“It's extremely important to go to camp, obviously, without any negativity or outside noise,” Embiid said. “Obviously, the last few years, we found a lot of those.”
In George and Maxey, Embiid has co-stars who fit his style of play and with whom he gets along very well. He and Maxey have grown together over the years. He and George have gotten acquainted during All-Star games. Even with some chemistry to develop, the new big three should be a smashing success. But that’s also up for Embiid to decide with how he navigates the wear and tear of the long NBA regular season.
“Basically, every single year of my career, I've been hurt in the playoffs,” Joel Embiid said. Changing that is the goal. The 76ers superstar always believes in the team he suits up for. His top priority this season: stay healthy enough for his team to play to its highest potential.
