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He's been misunderstood. He's not blameless in that. He's been dominant, and then hobbled or absent. He's been resented for that.

Even his most painful grief has been thrown in his face. At the start of Embiid's rookie season in 2014, his 13-year-old brother Arthur was hit by a truck and killed. The day Arthur died, Embiid ignored a series of phone calls. When he finally answered, it was terrible news.

Even now, phone calls can send a tremor through him, a quicksilver slice of panic -- someone is dead. In fact, he rarely answers texts or calls. His notifications are turned off.

Those who need to reach him do so through his assistant or his wife. His replies can take months.

"I have a reputation of being not a good texter," Embiid tells me, adding that he probably has 10,000 unread messages.

"You're kidding," I say.

He reaches for his phone, taps the screen and leans forward to show me. More than 9,500 unread texts and 875 missed calls. Some of the messages are years old.

"I just can't do it," he says, sitting back.

I ask who this annoys most in his life.

"Everybody," he says.

At Embiid's best, there's no one to compare him to. Not Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who for all their offensive gifts can't turn the interior of the defense into a black hole. Not Giannis Antetokounmpo or Anthony Davis, who for all their versatility can't ascend into a trance of pure jump shooting.

Sealab2024 wrote:This does not improve my opinion of him and honestly I think it's a bad message to send. I get it, you experienced some bad trauma and have regrets. I don't mean to be crass but go ahead and join the rest of us in this thing we call life. What you can't do is emotionally shut down forever and refuse to process your experiences. That leaves you a prisoner of your past and will poison anything you try to do.

I feel for you Joel, I really do. I lost a very close cousin to a drunk driver in my teens so I do understand. But as an adult and especially as a man, you have to find your way through that stuff one way or another.

Sealab2024 wrote:This does not improve my opinion of him and honestly I think it's a bad message to send. I get it, you experienced some bad trauma and have regrets. I don't mean to be crass but go ahead and join the rest of us in this thing we call life. What you can't do is emotionally shut down forever and refuse to process your experiences. That leaves you a prisoner of your past and will poison anything you try to do.

I feel for you Joel, I really do. I lost a very close cousin to a drunk driver in my teens so I do understand. But as an adult and especially as a man, you have to find your way through that stuff one way or another.

BigGargamel wrote:Haven't cared about this guy since he whined his way to an MVP, which was clearly the focal point of his career. He's been a shell of himself since then. I'll pass on this.

mkot wrote:

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