Sixers' Daryl Morey Thinks Joel Embiid is the 'Most Unstoppable' Player He's Seen
When Daryl Morey left the Houston Rockets' front office, he thought about taking some time off from the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers, who wanted to revamp their front office, did everything they could to prevent Morey from doing so.
After relentlessly recruiting Doc Rivers and eventually hiring him as the head coach, the Sixers pursued Morey just as hard. And after a few weeks of negotiating, Morey signed on to become the Sixers' President of Basketball Operations.
During his introductory press conference, it was apparent that the Sixers' four-time All-Star Joel Embiid had a lot to do with the decision for Morey to sign on to take control of Philly's personnel decisions.
"The chance to work with Joel [Embiid], Ben [Simmons], and the roster that Elton [Brand] had put together -- this is a roster that has championship aspirations," Morey said in early November. "He (Embiid) wants to win a championship. He's a smart player who knows you only have so many opportunities. Frankly, I'm excited to go on this journey with Joel and Ben going forward."
Morey knew Embiid was good when he came to Philly. After all, the big man was a three-time All-Star already. Fast forward to early March, and Embiid has not only lived up to Morey's expectations -- but he pretty much shattered them as the big man is arguably the NBA MVP frontrunner through 36 games.
“I get in trouble when I say stuff like this, but he’s the most unstoppable thing I’ve ever seen," Morey told Sports Illustrated's own Senior Writer, Howard Beck. "I've seen a lot. You know who I’ve seen. But I’ve never seen anything like it. Like last night against Rudy Gobert, he faced him up at eight feet, and I mean, it ended in a dunk. And (Gobert) is an amazing defender. And he had no answer.”
On the night Morey referred to, the Sixers hosted the Utah Jazz before wrapping up the first half of the NBA season. In 39 minutes on the floor, Embiid accounted for a game-high of 40 points against the West's best in the overtime victory. Embiid was, in fact, dominant on that very night. And he's been just as dominant in every other game.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
