Hakeem Olajuwon questions why Sixers’ Joel Embiid settles for 3-pointers
Joel Embiid of Philadelphia is a star player for the 76ers. He is one the best scorers. He’s a versatile player who can do anything. He can outrun defenders on the dribble and can score in the low blocks with post moves. He also gets to the free-throw line.
He is 7 feet tall and does all this. It’s absolutely ridiculous what he does on a nightly basis.
NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon (the godfather of post moves) is puzzled by why Embiid settles to 3s with all his skills in the low block.
Olajuwon told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard:
Take Embiid. Olajuwon is fond of him and has offered him advice. However, he still has some questions. “He’s got all the moves, but leveraging the moves is different. Why would he be shooting threes?” Olajuwon asks. “He has the advantage every night, and if I have the advantage, I’m going to wear you out.”
But how about threes? “That’s settling! When I’m tired, I settle. You don’t settle when you’re trying to win. You don’t start the game settling!”
Olajuwon, of course, is not the first retired big man to question Embiid’s offensive game, but the game in 2023 is not like how it was during Olajuwon’s heyday. Embiid is shooting 35.2% from deep and he’s shooting 43.1% from deep over his last 17 games.
The older generation will agree with Olajuwon’s take, but at the end of the day, a big man has to do everything out on the floor and Embiid certainly does that.
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