Joel Embiid's historic rise continues as he is only behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain
When the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Joel Embiid with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, they were hoping that he would become their centerpiece of the future. The 76ers front office remained patient with him as he worked through some injury woes that kept him sidelined in his first two seasons. However, it appears that their faith in him could pay off.
He has become one of the best big men in the NBA, grabbing rebounds and defending the rim like any good Center should. More than his rebounding and shot-blocking though, Embiid has proven that he is one of the best scorers in league history.
Since debuting in the 2016-17 season, he has never averaged less than 20 points per game throughout an entire campaign. Embiid's lowest scoring average is 20.2 which was during his first year in the league.
He has also earned the NBA's scoring twice in 2022 and 2023 with 30.6 and 33.1 points per game respectively. Due to his elite ability to find the bottom of the net with his shots, Joel Embiid finds himself in elite company in terms of points per game, as pointed out by Reddit user u/mrguister on the NBA subreddit.
Currently, he is tied with Elgin Baylor for the third spot in the all-time points-per-game stat with 27.4. The two people ahead on that list are NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain (30.1) and Michael Jordan (30.1).
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Joel Embiid is leading the NBA in points per game this season
This NBA season is still quite young, but if the Cameroonian Center continues to play the same way, he could win his third straight scoring title.
Currently, he leads the league with 32 points per game on 49% shooting from the field and 31% from downtown. He is ahead of Kevin Durant (31.2) and Luka Doncic (31.1) who are both having a phenomenal start to the season as well.
Joel Embiid's lowest-scoring output of the season so far was his 20-point outing against the Boston Celtics on November 15th. He has scored 30 points or more 11 times in 16 appearances, with the highest being a 48-point performance against the Washington Wizards on November 6th.
He has also scored 30 points or more in the last five games he played, including a three-game streak where he scored exactly 32 points.
With him being the focal point of the 76ers' offense this year and in the foreseeable future, it is safe to bet that he'll break the tie with Elgin Baylor and could even climb higher on that list.