PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — On the day he became an NBA millionaire, Joel Embiid woke up at 11:30 a.m. in the guest bedroom of agent Arn Tellem’s home. A “Get Well Soon” balloon hovered next to Embiid’s queen-sized bed, and a pair of crutches lay crisscrossed on the floor.Thousands of miles away in luxury New York hotel suites, college basketball’s top players adjusted the bow ties on their custom-made tuxedos as they primped for Thursday’s NBA draft.
But back near Los Angeles, as he scooched off the mattress and hobbled toward the bathroom, Embiid’s main concern was protecting the puffy white cast covering his right foot.Just hours before becoming a pro on national television, Embiid took a sponge bath.“This wasn’t how I imagined going into the NBA,” Embiid told Bleacher Report. “But I’ll take it.”Just six days removed from surgery to repair a broken navicular bone, Embiid was unable to travel to New York for Thursday’s draft. The injury, which will keep the former Kansas star off the court for at least four months, caused him to lose his status as the projected No. 1 overall pick as naysayers questioned his ability to stay healthy.None of it, though, was enough to dampen Embiid’s spirits Thursday.
Flanked by his parents and sister in a private upstairs room, Embiid pumped his fists and smiled from ear to ear when NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the Philadelphia 76ers had selected him with the No. 3 overall pick.Less than four years removed from his first game of organized basketball, the Cameroon native is now being hailed as one of the top big man prospects in recent memory. Embiid will make $11,567,300 over the next three years.
“It’s all so crazy,” Embiid said. “Thinking about how far I’ve come and how fast it’s happened...I know it’s surprised a lot of people. But it doesn’t surprise me. I know how hard I’ve worked for this—and I’m going to keep working.”Embiid paused.“I’m just so excited,” he said. “When I heard them call my name, I thought I was going to cry.”
Less than two weeks ago, Joel Embiid lay in a bed at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Standing before him was Dr. Richard Ferkel, who was holding the x-rays of Embiid’s right foot.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Ferkel said.Embiid was told he had a stress fracture that would require surgery, but Ferkel said he had no reason to believe the problem would return after Embiid healed.“This is minor bump in the road,” Ferkel told Embiid. “You’ll be fine.”
Ferkel inserted two screws into Embiid’s navicular bone during surgery on June 20. Along with staying off the court for the next four to six months, Ferkel told Embiid he wasn’t allowed to fly for at least 10 days, meaning he’d miss the NBA draft.
Embiid wasn’t even sure when he sustained the injury.
He wowed coaches, scouts and front-office types from Cleveland, which owned the No. 1 pick, during a June 11 workout, at one point swishing 10 straight three-pointers. The Cavaliers also put him through rigorous conditioning tests, which included running on the treadmill, to make sure the back injury that caused him to miss his final six games at Kansas was a thing of the past.Word soon leaked that Cleveland officials were so impressed with Embiid that they were ready to make him the No. 1 pick in the June 26 draft.
The following morning, though, Embiid mentioned to one of his agents, Francois Nyam, that he was experiencing discomfort in his right foot. It was certainly nothing major, as Embiid spent time juggling a soccer ball at a Los Angeles-area park that afternoon.
The pain, though, never subsided.“I think I twisted my ankle,” Embiid told Nyam.
Noticing swelling, Embiid went in for an x-ray, and the stress fracture was revealed.
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