https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you
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.
