{"id":127604,"date":"2025-03-08T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T04:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=127604"},"modified":"2025-03-08T23:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T04:00:26","slug":"no-sound-argument-against-joel-embiid-making-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/08\/no-sound-argument-against-joel-embiid-making-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"No Sound Argument Against Joel Embiid Making Hall Of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some players that people just love to hate<\/a> and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid<\/a> is one of them.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s earned plenty of sympathy after the realization that he might have sustained a career-ending injury<\/a>. As the saying goes, \u2018you don\u2019t know what you have until it\u2019s gone.\u2019 For NBA fans that have been outspoken critics of Embiid, that couldn\u2019t be any more true. However, he\u2019s always going to have detractors.<\/p>\n

No Sound Argument Against Joel Embiid Making Hall Of Fame<\/h2>\n

The man responsible for writing an unethical article<\/a> about him only a few months ago is one of them. In his latest attempt<\/a> to dress the star big man down, The Philadelphia Inquirer\u2019s Marcus Hayes questions Embiid\u2019s chances of being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Though eventually stating Embiid would likely get in, Hayes paints a picture of the soon-to-be 31-year-old as a weak candidate:<\/p>\n

Considering the low bar to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame, certainly, with his All-Star appearances and MVP award, he deserves to be in the Hall. However, if it were a more demanding Hall of Fame, such as baseball, then I think his brief career, combined with his postseason failures, his decreased postseason production, his poor character, and his abysmal professionalism and leadership would disqualify him for most voters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The palpable sense of bitterness isn\u2019t lost on anyone. Hayes, who was accosted by Embiid in response to what he wrote about a late relative, has an axe to grind. He clearly didn\u2019t like or respect him before their confrontation and nothing has changed since. His unprofessional behavior isn\u2019t the focus though.<\/p>\n

Hayes might have a personal grudge against Embiid but he\u2019s not the only person who doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s worthy of the Hall of Fame. In that same Q&A, NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers analyst Marc Jackson says that he believes \u201cthe length of his career\u201d will keep him out. Former NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers play-by-play broadcaster Marc Zumoff agrees \u201cif Joel was forced to retire today.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that being said, there\u2019s no way Embiid wouldn\u2019t make the cut. Though there isn\u2019t a list of minimal requirements, he\u2019s done enough in his career to be enshrined, objectively. No matter how anyone feels about him, that\u2019s what matters.<\/p>\n

MVP, MVP, MVP!<\/h3>\n

As Zumoff and others stated, every NBA MVP has made the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Embiid, who won a controversial NBA MVP race back in 2023, already has that feather in his cap. He was the NBA MVP runner-up in the two preceding seasons, underscoring his dominance. In those three seasons, the former No. 3 pick averaged 30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steal per game.<\/p>\n

\n

Joel Embiid has the most points + rebounds + assists + blocks + steals per minute on record in NBA history.<\/p>\n

A big loss for the NBA, not just the Sixers. pic.twitter.com\/oUXMdtX9wi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 HoopsHype (@hoopshype) March 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n