January 22 will forever be
solidified as one of the best days of basketball in NBA
history. On the anniversary
of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game, Joel Embiid scored a Philadelphia
76ers franchise-record 70 points en route to a victory over the San
Antonio Spurs.
Finishing with a stat line of 70
points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block, Embiid’s
performance is now the third-highest game score listed on Basketball Reference.
As if this wasn’t impressive enough, Embiid had just one turnover
and only played 36 minutes (the fewest minutes ever in a 70-point
outing).
This was Embiid’s third 50-point
game of the season, with his last being against the Minnesota
Timberwolves in December. After his dominant performance against
Minnesota, Embiid spoke to Basketball News about the different
energy and effort level he’s bringing this season.
“I’m just pushing myself more,
understanding that every possession matters,” Embiid said. “It
doesn’t matter, I shouldn’t have to wait until the playoffs… (I’m)
just trying my best, offensively and defensively.”
This season, he has risen to an
otherworldly level of scoring, having the most efficient 35+
point-per-game season ever thus far. As of January 23, Embiid is
averaging 36.1 points in just 34.2 minutes. This level of
production is just unheard of. The second-closest player in the
scoring race is Luka Doncic, who’s averaging 33.6 points. While
this is very impressive, he’s doing so in roughly 37 minutes per
game. Embiid’s stat line per 36.9 minutes (Doncic’s MPG) would
be 38.9 points, 12.5
rebounds and 6.3 assists on 54/36/89 shooting
splits.
Perhaps the most wild aspect of
Embiid’s incredible start to the season is that he has sat out of
11 fourth quarters thus far. This is roughly a third of the games
he’s played in this season, yet he’s still averaging 36.1 points
per game.
In addition to somehow improving
as a scorer, Embiid has also developed into a very good
playmaker. In his last matchup with Nikola Jokic, Embiid beat
him in the assist battle, while still scoring 41 points. All
around, Embiid has been the best player in the world this season
and it isn’t even a question anymore.
Something that’s gone overlooked
is that Embiid has only lost six games this season and has a win
percentage of 81.3%, which is higher than that of the Boston
Celtics. If Embiid keeps up this level of play (and he hasn’t shown
any signs of slowing down), this will go down as one of the best
individual seasons in the modern NBA.
