Watch Joel Embiid play enough and his emotions become easy to read. If he’s tossing lazy passes, and ambling around with a stoic face, and collapsing onto the floor every five minutes, well, you can assume he’s checked out. That happens, sometimes, with him — more than it should.
But those lows are what make his highs so energizing. In those rare moments, when he’s pounding his chest and waving his arms and, well, chopping his crotch, you can feel the confidence oozing out of him. It’s contagious, because Embiid at his best is as good as anyone, and when he’s feeling like the best, you can be sure that everyone — on the court, in the stands, watching on TV — will be made aware.
Entering Team USA’s semifinal matchup with Serbia on Thursday, we had yet to see that version of Embiid. To that point, his Olympics debut had been mostly a disaster. He’d played well in the quarterfinals against Brazil, but before that his play had many fans and analysts clamoring for his removal from the rotation. Which head coach Steve Kerr did against South Sudan during the pool-play round. Prior to Thursday, the most notable thing Embiid had done all tournament was egg on boos raining from French fans, furious over his decision to play for the United States instead of representing France.
Then came Serbia, meaning Nikola Jokić, the specific matchup for which Embiid was recruited. NBA stars don’t get many chances at legacy games in international competition. But considering that Embiid has never advanced out of the playoffs’ second round, this would at least be an opportunity for him to prove that he can thrive on a big stage. Which is exactly what he did.
Embiid wasn’t Team USA’s best player in its thrilling, 95-91 comeback victory. Those honors belonged to Steph Curry (36 points) and LeBron James (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, just the fourth triple-double in Olympics history). But Embiid was essential to the Americans, especially as they did all they could to withstand Serbia’s 3-point barrage (15-39) and claw back from a 17-point deficit.
It was no coincidence that the Americans outscored Serbia by 17 points in the 27 minutes Embiid was on the court. He was everywhere and did everything. He buried his patented foul-line jumpers. He manned the middle on defense. But he extended himself, too, bodying up Jokic on multiple possessions and throwing down a baseline slam after creating a runway with one of his slow-motion pump fakes.
Embiid finished with 19 points — on a ridiculous 9-for-11 shooting — 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, along with one critical, back-breaking screen to free up Curry for a go-ahead triple with just over two minutes remaining, giving Team USA its first lead since the first quarter.
“He showed why he’s one of the greatest ever to touch a basketball,” Kevin Durant said after the win, per The Athletic. “He was finishing over the rim, knocking down shots, putting those guys in foul trouble. He was incredible tonight.”
Throughout it all, you could feel Embiid wanting the game the more it seemed to be slipping away. The deficit — and the opportunity it presented, especially facing his rival in Jokić — seemed to energize him. He was pounding his chest and shouting at the hissing crowd and then after the win, as he pranced off the floor while mixing in some crotch chops — all captured on camera by Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, because of course — you could see the glee.
The tournament’s not over yet. Team USA will face host country France on Saturday, meaning the battle for gold will be taking place in front of a hostile crowd. Embiid’s going to hear the boos. The choice of how to meet the moment will be his. A gold medal won’t erase his playoff shortcomings. And it wouldn’t be the first line of his basketball obituary. But it would be mentioned. Olympics performances don’t change legacies. But they can burnish them.
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.
Joel Embiid
National Basketball Association
Philadelphia 76ers
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