"Seeing" just the player, not the persona: where does a peak, fully healthy Embiid ranks among the best in the League?

[Rubios]

I think I'd still put him below Jokic and Giannis.
Potentially, Doncic -could- get him out of the podium. But that's it IMHO.

On the other hand, a totally injury-free Joel could potentially rank even higher, though.

[dhsilv2]

Embiid is hard to judge. He's clearly impactful, even in the playoffs. He obviously puts up video game numbers. But I just can't put him fast 5th as I just haven't seen him do it.

[KGtabake]

I think I'd still put him below Jokic and Giannis.
Potentially, Doncic -could- get him out of the podium. But that's it IMHO.

On the other hand, a totally injury-free Joel could potentially rank even higher, though.

No offense but if after the past 2 seasons SGA is listed below Embiid, i should probably stop watching basketball.

[UcanUwill]

well, before he broke down, when healthy, he was second best player behind Jokic, and that was his peak. Let say that mythical 2023 Embiid is here again, I think he would probably rank second behind Jokic now, I do not think much changed. Maybe we could argue SGA became better, maybe someone could Argue Embiid was not better than Giannis, but there are some who believe he is better than Jokic, so he would be in that 1-4 spot, more likely, 2-4 spot.
But I do not believe that player exist anymore, and even when he did exist, it was a mirage.

Now, what I optimistically expect, if he is actually playing games, I think he might flirt with being top 10 player, but we will see.

[bkkrh]

It´s really hard to say, just based on if we actually ever saw a fully healthy Embiid. Even in his MVP season he had a few games he sat out, which you wouldn´t do as a fully healthy player and this can of course be an advantage over players that play all games. 21-22 was probably the closest of healthy Embiid we ever saw, so if I take that as a basis he´s a top 2-5 player with Shai, Doncic & Giannis. I think you have to put Joker at one, for the next 3 I mentioned and healthy Embiid it mostly comes down to personal preference. I´d probably put him still at 5 myself, but I would have no issue with people rating him as 2nd best player either.

[Quattro]

How many qualifiers does a guy need to be ranked top 5?

[tsherkin]

Assuming he could actually stay healthy, we ARE talking about an MVP-caliber, two-way player. Couple of scoring titles, probably would have won a third in a row in 2024. Not Jokic's level on O, nor on the boards (offensive rebounding is the difference), but makes up some of the gap with his D, which is obviously a lot better.

I'd think that it would be very easy to call him 3rd-best in the league. Health is literally the main barrier for him; when he's on the court, he's nasty.

[Celts17Pride]

A peak healthy Bill Walton is the best center in the league back in the day. Never happened after 1977. Same can be said for Embiid.

[tsherkin]

A peak healthy Bill Walton is the best center in the league back in the day. Never happened after 1977. Same can be said for Embiid.

True. Not sure of relevance, though, as this appears to be a thread focusing on a hypothetical.

[Celts17Pride]

A peak healthy Bill Walton is the best center in the league back in the day. Never happened after 1977. Same can be said for Embiid.

True. Not sure of relevance, though, as this appears to be a thread focusing on a hypothetical.

Bill Walton would have been the best center in the league if he was healthy but just like Embiid he never was.

[tsherkin]

A peak healthy Bill Walton is the best center in the league back in the day. Never happened after 1977. Same can be said for Embiid.

True. Not sure of relevance, though, as this appears to be a thread focusing on a hypothetical.

Bill Walton would have been the best center in the league if he was healthy but just like Embiid he never was.

Ah, I see.

EDIT: The "never was" is super irrelevant, but you're at least acknowledging the talent level Embiid does have.

[web123888]

5th best player in the game. Jokic, SGA, Luka, Giannis I would take before him.

[Drakeem]

Probably top 2? His impact on defense would be enough to edge him over SGA for me. They're both super efficient scorers but I'll take the anchor on defense vs the POA guy.

[Chokic]

When 100% healthy Embiid is the best player in the nba. Outplays jokic head to head majority of the time. Ppl seem to forget in 2023-2024 season he was putting up historical #s and was on pace to be the runaway back to back mvp before going down with the injury. He played very well in that postseason despite playing thru injury.

[Woodsanity]

When 100% healthy Embiid is the best player in the nba. Outplays jokic head to head majority of the time. Ppl seem to forget in 2023-2024 season he was putting up historical #s and was on pace to be the runaway back to back mvp before going down with the injury. He played very well in that postseason despite playing thru injury.

Inflated stats from playing half the season and stat padding against bad teams.

He would be barely top 5.

Giannis, Jokic, Luka and SGA over him.

[ryan in Maine]

What's his effort level

[Peak Brunson]

But health has not been his main issue. Fundamentals and lack of proper mentoring was, which impacted how he performed in playoffs.
If we only consider Embiid with better health, he is still below Jokic and Giannis. I believe if he was drafted in a team with a better culture, he gets more time to work on his fundamentals, gets better mentoring so that he has the right mindset, takes care of his body better, etc. With that, he surpasses Giannis, but still below Jokic.
Note I'm prioritizing Playoffs here, otherwise, Embiid was better than Giannis in RS in multiple seasons already.

[SkyBill40]

If we're judging strictly by the player's ability and contributions on the court, I'd perhaps put him in the top 20. But even that is arguable given his production and effort varies greatly game to game.

[Slimjimzv]

I'm not sure. Counter question. Where do the Pegasus and Unicorn rank amongst horses?

[Mavrelous]

His other wordly numbers are inflated by ducking tough matchups and blatant stat padding.
Still, MVP caliber player, but his lack of PO success should keep him out of the big 4.