NBA: Staying healthy is key to Embiid’s development, Sixers coach says

Although he only appeared in 31 games last season for the Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid’s hardwood prowess has embodied the entire city’s mantra of “Trust the Process.”

After being rendered unable to play for the first two years of his career due to health issues, the 23-year-old Cameroonian showed glimpses of potential superstardom despite playing limited minutes for the “City of Brotherly Love.”

However, a meniscus tear in his left knee once again ruled him out of action for a significant amount of time—keeping him out of contention for the Rookie of the Year award.

With Embiid coming into the league already  looking as polished as a veteran player, Sixers head coach Brett Brown said that the Kansas product’s next step was to focus on keeping himself healthy.

“I think it has nothing to do really with his game. It’s not his jump hook. It’s not his defense. It’s his health,” Brown described his budding superstar to CSN Philly’s Jessica Camerato.

“Helping him better understand how to consistently play NBA basketball is most on my mind.”

The team certainly did its part in keeping their center of the future fresh, managing to limit him to 24 minutes per game on most nights and sitting him out on back-to-back games. The restrictive measure, of course, didn’t sit well with Embiid.

“The competitive side that Joel possesses is not to be denied,” Brown said. “Helping him really prepare his body, helping him be able to play NBA basketball in multiple games and back-to-backs, all those types of things, that’s a health thing, that’s a discipline thing.”

The Sixers head honcho added: “The preparation to go play a game, the pre-hab stuff, the discipline of getting yourself ready is always an evolution for any player. Joel’s no different.”  Khristian Ibarrola /ra