Despite No All-Star Nod, Joel Embiid Has Freed Himself From External Validation

PHILADELPHIA — It's almost 11 p.m., Eastern time, on a frigid Saturday night in Philadelphia, but no one is warmer than Joel Embiid.

He's just scored 40 points for the first time in two years. Saturday, a victory over the lowly New Orleans Pelicans, is the seventh consecutive game in which he has scored at least 25 points.

Embiid is feeling vulnerable. Eye contact might just be a little too vulnerable. So he stares across the locker room as he reflects on his road back to this point.

Even he is surprised by his own ascent back toward the top of the NBA.

"Coming into this year, I thought it was going to be more of a tryout year. To me, this year has already been successful because I feel like it was about figuring out, 'What's the schedule? How are we going to do this moving forward?'. Try to figure out how the knee is going to respond every single day," Embiid told reporters.

There have been micro milestones throughout this season. Early in the season, Embiid was required to have two days of rest between games. He's been cleared to play every other day for quite a while now.

He logged a season-high 46 minutes against a physical, big Houston Rockets team on January 22.

When his expectation coming into the season was that it would be a trial for what his future looked like, it's difficult for anyone to say that things aren't going well.

Embiid is taking it one step at a time.

"Coming into the year, it was all about figuring out what we are going to do. Every single day. So, to me, this year is already a success," Embiid reiterated.

That would give a lot of fans pause. They've thirsted for the basketball team to advance past the second round of the playoffs. It would give the loudest voices on television pause. Success is supposed to be a championship.

But Embiid, in some way, is displaying the wisdom he's gained through his recovery process.

He's defining his own success, not allowing what others say or personal accolades to dictate his sense of validation. He's freeing himself from external validation.

But just because he has a new lease on life doesn't mean he's content.

"That doesn't change my mentality as far as wanting to get better every single day. Keep pushing. Like I said, it was supposed to be basically a tryout for next year and moving forward. How are we going to do this? I would say I think we figured out the schedule and what we have to do every single day to make sure that I'm prepared and I feel good," he said.

Dr. Jonathan Glashow has received significant praise for his role in restoring Embiid's body when most doubted that that was possible.

But Embiid wants someone else to share the spotlight.

That someone is Simon Rice, Vice President of Athlete Care for the Sixers.

"His name hasn't been mentioned, but I think guys like Simon Rice. He's been probably the main guy when it comes to everything. I would say probably everybody mostly gave up on me. And then he's the one guy that just kept trying to figure it out. 'What can we do? How can he help me?' So, like I said, I'm really thankful because he was the one person," Embiid said.

"He's in the background. No one is ever going to mention his name and talk about him. But he's the guy."

At the time of our late December writing on his value, the Sixers were losing by 0.7 points per 100 possessions with Embiid off the court. They were winning his minutes by 2.2 points per 100 possessions.

As of February 1, the Sixers are outscoring the opposition by 6.6 points per 100 possessions when Embiid is on the court, per databallr. They are being outscored by 1.1 points per 100 possessions when Embiid is off the court.

That differential is approaching MVP-level impact.

"I never doubted that he would be able to get back to that point. Super proud of him. I know he's gone through a lot of adversity over these past few years. Good to see him smiling, good to see him happy, good to see him celebrating and trolling. So more to come," Kelly Oubre Jr. told reporters on Saturday night.

"He's really good at basketball, like really good, though," Tyrese Maxey added. "It's a blessing, man. He works hard. He's done a good job of getting his body right. He played more minutes than me tonight. So that's good."

Maxey norices more than just a return to form from Embiid. He notices him investing in his teammates more.

"He's playing the right way, too. He's getting peope involved. Rolling. I think the biggest thing right now is his trust level in his teammates," Maxey said.

"Yeah, he put up 40. But even late in the game, he saw I had a mismatch with the big. Waves me off, go space, hit a jump shot, run it again. Mismatch with Zion. Go space. Drive, kick, three ball for him. That's real trust. We appreciate him for that."

Embiid's playmaking against pressure has improved. He still makes his share of errors, just as you'd expect from most high-usage players. But his ability to manipulate the defense for others rather than just to dominate his scoring column has become its own boon to the team's shot quality.

"I just think that he's getting rid of it much earlier. I think it's kind of like he sees the double coming and, as they're coming toward him, he's getting rid of it. There's kind of the ball going that way, they're still coming this way. Rather than waiting until he's totally surrounded and he can't even get his arms...you know, like, he's just getting rid of it a little bit quicker," Nurse said after the win over the Rockets.

"He's just getting back to himself slowly but surely. He's doing it in a different way kind of. He's just really locked in and really bought into this team and we appreciate him for that," Maxey added.

The progress is slow but steady in Nurse's eyes, too.

"Obviously it's been a long road. So that, right there, talks about the amount of work. There's so much involved in it. There's stretching and weight-training and testing. Playing. There's so much involvement," Nurse said on Saturday.

But, to the head coach, the biggest thing is stacking games of high minutes. It's the most sure-fire way to condition his body.

"It's good to see that it's tolerating it for the most part I think. So that's excellent. But, as you know, there's tons of little things that need to be done for him all the time to keep that going in a positive direction," Nurse told reporters.

"But he certainly looks like he's moving better all the time. I think he would say he's still a ways from moving as good as he would like to."

Maxey was emphatic that Embiid should join him at the All-Star game in Los Angeles later this month, saying, "PROCESS! Y'all go make sure he gets into the All-Star game" after the overtime game against Houston.

But that wasn't enough. Maxey tapped the microphone to make sure it was still on before he walked out of the press room and into another cold night.

"Sixers, put that on [social media]. Joel Embiid needs to be in the All-Star game," he reiterated.

It's up to the coaches, and they did not offer validation.

But Embiid seems to have already found his validation, regardless of what the coaches say.