Joel Embiid is a Cameroonian who initially had a desire to play volleyball but ended up playing basketball in the NBA league. He began his career with the Philadelphia 76ers after being drafted third overall in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft. Despite being drafted, the talented baller was unable to play in any games until 2017 due to the injuries that were bothering him.
The basketball player gradually blossomed into his high school state championship and was previously rated a 5-star recruit by multiple platforms. He made a year-long appearance for his college basketball team and then joined the NBA.
Joel Embiid Biography
Joel was born as Joel Hans Embiid on March 16, 1994 to Cameroonian parents Thomas and Christine Embiid in Yaounde, Cameroon. His father was a military officer and a former handball player. He has 2 known younger siblings; Arthur, who died in a car accident on October 16, 2014, and a sister named Muriel.
His love for sport started at a young age and his first career choice was to play volleyball in a European country. That plan was called off after meeting a local NBA player at a summer camp.
Luc Mbah a Moute became his mentor and took him all the way to the United States of America where he became the star he is now. He started playing basketball in 2008 and participated in an organized basketball game in 2011. Gradually, Joel Embiid changed his style of play like Nigerian-born NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon, his favorite player.
Injury and career statistics
In November 2012 “The Process”, as he himself called it, officially announced the college that he was going to attend – the University of Kansas. He has also signed up for The JayHawks basketball team. Joel only spent a year with the team, but his stats were good enough to earn him a spot in the 30 finalists for Naismith College Player of the Year Awards, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the All-Big 12 of the 2nd place teams to secure honor.
Joel had his first setback when he broke his back in March 2014. It prevented him from playing in the season’s NCAA and Big 12 tournaments. After recovering from the injury in April 2014, he announced that he would give up his remaining college basketball years and make himself available for the 2014 NBA draft.
He was eventually drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with third overall in the first round of the year draft. However, he soon had to undergo surgery for a broken tarsal bone, which kept him away from the game for 6 months. He eventually made his NBA debut in preseason games in October 2016. Embiid thrived as a fine B-baller until the injury bug reared its ugly head in February 2017. Luckily, the left knee injury didn’t require surgery, but he looked out of the courts for a while. As if that wasn’t enough, he again suffered a swollen left knee that kept him on the bench for the remainder of the 2017 season.
After his numerous legal sabbaticals, he is stillIn October 2017, the 76ers renewed his contract, giving him a 5-year deal worth $148 million. If anything, Joel Embiid has proven he’s worth the deal. In addition to being recognized as one of the 2018 NBA All-Stars, he was also named NBA All-Defensive Second Team of the Year and All-NBA Second Team of the Year.
As of this writing, Joel’s professional career spans 103 games, averaging 22.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
His girlfriend
Joel Embiid has established himself as a social media trash talker. He was once quoted on Twitter to ask popular pop and R&B singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty out on a date.
Meanwhile, in February 2017, he was rumored to be dating WAVING reality star Olivia Pierson. This comes after a picture of the duo lying on a bed went viral on social media. Joel has also been linked to other beautiful ladies like Jocelyn Chew – the Instagram model. In October 2018, he was spotted getting off a bus with Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Anne De Paula. Due to the many women he has been met with, it is difficult to say who his girlfriend is.
Size – how tall is he?
The basketball player is 7 feet tall and weighs 113 kg. He’s the perfect size for the game of basketball and really uses it to his advantage in the game.