I always love those mystery player stat lines. Last year, I wrote about Embiid’s historic game at Staples Center and how Philadelphia and the Lakers might be meeting again someday in the NBA Finals.
A regular season game that features constant lead changes and a fired up crowd can feel like a playoff game. And a regular season game featuring young stars gives the same magical feeling as when you discovered the next great band before their first hit song.
But what happens when you see a young star do something that has never been done in the history of the NBA since they started keeping modern stats in 1973? If you’re a fan of a losing team, a game like this takes on enormous proportions. You know you have no shot at winning a championship this year, but the promise of future greatness instills the hope that you are watching a championship team a few years down the road.
Embiid makes history
That’s what happened when fans watched the Philadelphia 76ers win a close game against the Lakers at Staples Center on November 15th.
Joel Embiid had 46 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks. I would say those are numbers of Olajuwon or Shaq magnitude, except that neither of these Hall of Fame centers ever had a stat line like that.
