It’s Just Not Fair: Joel Embiid Continues to be the NBA’s Unluckiest Superstar

As easy as it to be annoyed by Bill Simmons when listening to his Ringer podcast, he occasionally has some good observations about NBA basketball and pop culture topics in general. Once you skip over the lengthy and deep analysis of the Celtics and Jokic worship, you can enjoy his thoughts and wit over sports.

3 months ago Bill did a deep dive into Joel Embiid’s fascinating and seemingly cursed career. We Sixer fans probably haven’t sat down and thought about how insane Embiid’s NBA journey has been.

As interesting as this video is, I highly recommend you watch it if you have thick skin, because this video rips open a lot of old wounds.

In a brief summary: Embiid in Kansas seemed to be the consensus Number 1 pick and could have teamed up with LeBron James in Cleveland had he not suffered the injury that kept him out of action for two seasons. So instead he landed on the Sixers at the start of their extreme tanking era under Sam Hinkie. Over the next three seasons the Sixers landed in the Top 3 of the NBA draft and all three of them didn’t work out in Philly. Every draft and free agent decision the Sixers made in Embiid’s tenure blew up in their face and the fact they still have a decent team around him is miraculous.

The debate for the unluckiest NBA superstar of all-time is up for debate: Elgin Baylor, Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber, Chris Paul. But right now the unluckiest NBA star right now is Embiid. And this latest and devastating news of him suffering an orbital fracture in his right eye that will possibly keep him out of the entire 2nd round series against the Miami Heat is further proof of it.

Not only did he get the injury, but he got it in the close out Game 6 against the Toronto Raptors, a series the Sixers should have closed out sooner in the first place. The classy Toronto fans of course gave him their sympathy and hoped the best for his health and well-being.

Unless the Sixers can steal a game in Miami without Embiid and he can return for the middle of the series, then the season is all but over. Just when it seemed like the team’s confidence and swagger was back and they had a chance to finally advance to the conference finals, another mark of The Curse of The Process struck and it was all taken away, again.

Would the Sixers have been able to get past the Bucks or Celtics? Probably not, but it would have been nice to know whether or not they could advance past the Miami Heat and finally end the stigma that the Sixers can’t get it done in the 2nd Round.

The only good news so far is the surgery is not required for Embiid’s orbital fracture. If he’s able to recover quickly enough, he can don a mask and reprise The Phantom of The Process. Get well soon, MVP.