Joel Embiid Excited to See Andrew Wiggins Earn All-Star Honors

In 2013-2014, the University of Kansas had two standout players that were gearing up to enter the NBA after one season. One of them was the five-star big man Joel Embiid. The other was the five-star Canadian prospect, Andrew Wiggins.

Both players were expected to be selected high in the 2014 NBA Draft. Embiid was expected to go off the board first as he was one of the most versatile big men entering the NBA. However, Embiid's pre-draft injury forced the Cleveland Cavaliers into a different direction as they intended to compete right away.

Instead of selecting Embiid first-overall, the Cavaliers took the other Kansas product in Wiggins. Then, Cleveland flipped Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two picks later, Embiid landed with the Sixers, who were willing to be patient with his setback.

Philadelphia's patience with Embiid paid off in a big way. While it took a while for the big man to get on the floor, Embiid's been dominant ever since he could play games consistently.

While injuries still affect the big man every now and then, he's still earned tons of accolades over time. And on Thursday, Embiid was named an All-Star for the fifth time in his career. It will mark the fourth time he's been named an Eastern Conference starter. 

"You know I could never take that for granted," Embiid said on Thursday in regards to his All-Star nod. "You know, five times in a row now. Blessed, really to be in this position. You know, there's not a lot of guys that get to go through this. So anytime it happens, you know I'm just blessed."

Happy for Wiggins

In addition to being happy for his own achievement, Embiid had a bright smile when discussing his former teammate's All-Star nod as he learned that Golden State Warriors standout Andrew Wiggins had been named an All-Star for the first time in his professional career.

"I saw that," Embiid said with excitement. "I'm extremely happy for him. He's good. Obviously, we went to school together, and he's been playing extremely well this year, so I think he really deserves it. It's good that he's gonna get an opportunity to see what it's about and he's gonna enjoy it."

Although Wiggins and Embiid won't be teammates once again for one game, they'll have the opportunity to compete against each other as they are both starters for their respective conferences in the All-Star game. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.