So how about Joel Embiid

[GreenBloodedC]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Ok Nostradamus

[Capn'O]

He's not as big as Shaq, not as fast/quick as Hakeem, and not as athletic as either. It's the combination of quickness and control at his size that's intriguing.

Here's a comparison with a 7-2, skilled, 2 way, inside/outside center whose game went beyond his athleticism that Embiid could easily surpass if he avoids the foot problems that plagued this player's career: Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Watch on YouTube

Once he surpasses him, we can start talking about the other Lithuanian guy as a comp

[Unbreakable99]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Ok Nostradamus

I never claimed I'm Nostrdamus. I have been wrong on many players before. I'm admitting that. I'll be wrong again. I may be wrong on KAT and Embiid. Who knows. I just think me making a projection comparing to great players isn't irrational when those players I'm comparing to come out of college with great skill sets and compare to those great players pretty well when they came out of college.

[Sixersftw]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Dude, but why put this on the GB? Jojo looks fantastic but extrapolating that he will be better than arguably the two greatest centers of all time has to stop. If you wanna do it stylistically w/ Olajuwon, sure, but in terms of career projects ... it's off base.

[Hindenburg]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Can you tell me which stocks to invest into?

[Unbreakable99]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Dude, but why put this on the GB? Jojo looks fantastic but extrapolating that he will be better than arguably the two greatest centers of all time has to stop. If you wanna do it stylistically w/ Olajuwon, sure, but in terms of career projects ... it's off base.

Why not? I'm very high on Embiid. I have said he's the best big man prospect I have seen since Duncan. I'm not afraid to state my opinion. They guy is basically the perfect player for a Center if you take out his injuries. I'm not backing off of my stance just because he plays for my favorite team or because some people believe in Karma or whatever. He has more range than Olajuwon at the same age. He's taller than Olajuwon. Shaq played within 5 feet and was unstoppable but he was limited in range. Playing Center today does seem to be a little tougher because you can play zone. I know a few posts prior someone mentioned Embiid will play against lighter and less physical players. That may be true but the overall defense is more difficult for Centers today. Back then you could clear out an entire side and dump it in and let your Center go to work. You can't do that anymore. Post feeds are tougher today.

[Unbreakable99]

Has not even played a single season and already predicting him to be better than two of arguably the best big men in history, Shaq and Olajuwon.

I thought LeBron would be better than Kobe and Clyde and Dr. J before he played an NBA game sooooo...

Can you tell me which stocks to invest into?

I hate to break it to you but I think KAT will be better than KG when it's said and done. I guess I shouldn't say that because KG is an all time great

[Sixersftw]

Why not? I'm very high on Embiid. I have said he's the best big man prospect I have seen since Duncan. I'm not afraid to state my opinion.

Because Embiid actually has to do it. Those players have already done it. It just feels disrespectful and trivializes what that kind of accomplishment takes. He has all the talent in the world but so have a lot of other prospects. It's incredibly hard to transition from supremely talented prospect to top 10 player. Saying he is the best big man prospect you've ever seen is quite different from assuming that if he is healthy he will be a top 10 player of all time. The former says he has extreme potential, the latter, imo, trivializes what it takes to maximize that potential.

[rzzzzz]

Watch on YouTube

what a cool dude!

[Unbreakable99]

Why not? I'm very high on Embiid. I have said he's the best big man prospect I have seen since Duncan. I'm not afraid to state my opinion.

Because Embiid actually has to do it. Those players have already done it. It just feels disrespectful and trivializes what that kind of accomplishment takes. He has all the talent in the world but so have a lot of other prospects. It's incredibly hard to transition from supremely talented prospect to top 10 player. Saying he is the best big man prospect you've ever seen is quite different from assuming that if he is healthy he will be a top 10 player of all time. The former says he has extreme potential, the latter, imo, trivializes what it takes to maximize that potential.

It's not disrespectful. I'm just projecting. I could be wrong but I see a higher upside with Embiid than Olajuwon and Shaq. Would it have been disrespectful to have said I think LeBron will be better than Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler and Kobe back in 2003?

[gordeng]

This thread has comedy gold potential in a few years.

[Jonatton Yeah]

This thread has comedy gold potential in a few years.

In a few years? I think we're there already. Predicting he'll be a top 10 all time player before even seeing a regular season game...

[Sixersftw]

It's not disrespectful. I'm just projecting. I could be wrong but I see a higher upside with Embiid than Olajuwon and Shaq. Would it have been disrespectful to have said I think LeBron will be better than Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler and Kobe back in 2003?

Before a single game played? Yeah. Saying, definitively, that any high schooler will be better than the reigning best 2 guard in the game feels off. Just like it would have been wrong to say the same thing about Tyreke Evans after 2009. For every Lebron there's a ton of very talented guys that don't make it even halfway there.

[mksp]

This thread has comedy gold potential in a few years.

To be fair, there's like 1000x as many "comedy gold" potential threads out there if Embiid *actually* is a super star down the line.

[Stanford]

Read on Twitter

[Capn'O]

That's a mean statline for 18 minutes. We gonna be F5ing Free Dawkins tonight.

[LloydFree]

Embiid looked better than Whiteside tonight and it was obvious Whiteside was trying to show something.

[kulaz3000]

Watch on YouTube

[CoreyGallagher]

Watching that video, they didn't give Embiid the assist at 1:38 on the box score.

Also, Whiteside's footwork impressed me, has more moves than I thought he did.

[Tinseltown]

Why not? I'm very high on Embiid. I have said he's the best big man prospect I have seen since Duncan. I'm not afraid to state my opinion.

Because Embiid actually has to do it. Those players have already done it. It just feels disrespectful and trivializes what that kind of accomplishment takes. He has all the talent in the world but so have a lot of other prospects. It's incredibly hard to transition from supremely talented prospect to top 10 player. Saying he is the best big man prospect you've ever seen is quite different from assuming that if he is healthy he will be a top 10 player of all time. The former says he has extreme potential, the latter, imo, trivializes what it takes to maximize that potential.

It's not disrespectful. I'm just projecting. I could be wrong but I see a higher upside with Embiid than Olajuwon and Shaq. Would it have been disrespectful to have said I think LeBron will be better than Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler and Kobe back in 2003?

Well back in 2003 I predicted that LeBron would be better than MJ and I was right.