Philadelphia 76ers: Top 3 individual performances from the 2018-19 NBA season
The Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed a great regular season, finishing 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a 51-31 record and had strengthened themselves with the trade acquisition signings of top players in Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler, making their case for an Eastern Conference Finals appearance even stronger.
They managed to beat the Brooklyn Nets relatively comfortably in 5 games and faced a daunting series against the 2nd seed Toronto Raptors, which lasted 7 games and finally came down to a buzzer-beating shot in Game 7 to dump them out of the postseason.
All in all, their season might be viewed as a success by those who realised that by just putting star players together one does not make a winning team, that requires chemistry as well. While others, who view this season as a failure, have a claim that a team with probably the strongest starting 5 in the NBA, could not even reach the Conference Finals.
Yet, there were a lot of instances where they had everyone chanting in their support and could do no wrong. Here are the 3 best individual performances from the 2018-19 NBA season:
#3 Joel Embiid against the Charlotte Hornets in Wells Fargo Center
Joel Embiid is the cornerstone and probably the franchise player for the Philadelphia 76ers. They look to build around him as their #1 star and have done so with some great draft picks like Ben Simmons and trade deals for players like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris.
Embiid was drafted #3 in the 2014 NBA draft and was poised to be one of the best players in the NBA. Injuries did not allow him to play in his rookie year and even prematurely ended his 2015-16 season. Yet, he has only come back stronger and with even more hunger for success.
Joel Embiid was a man on a mission against the Charlotte Hornets at Wells Fargo Arena, taking the game to the Hornets, winning in overtime, 133-132, in a game where the Hornets managed to come back and then forced the Sixers into taking the game into overtime.
He had a mammoth game, scoring 42 points in just 39 minutes, grabbing 18 rebounds, 4 assists and a huge 4 blocks on the defensive end of the floor. He shot 61% from the field, scoring 16 points in the 4th quarter, leading the Sixers to a big win.
Final stat line: 42 points, 11-18 FG, 1-2 3FG, 19-22 FT, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 TOs in 39 minutes in a 133-132 OT win over the Charlotte Hornets