The Philadelphia 76ers got their new project off to a good start. A lack of accuracy around the basket and some difficulties in the half-court in bringing so much talent together in a single day were evident. But it’s not to be underestimated what it takes to turn up at the champions’ home and spoil the party.
Of the star quartet, perhaps Joel Embiid was the one who looked most out of sorts despite his good defence at the rim. The Cameroonian big man took 15 shots, making only 4 of them, and he looked uncomfortable in a Sixers side that, above all, enjoyed running in the open court. At the end of the game, he had no choice but to be humble. “I think the best thing Bron brings, apart from being LeBron James, is his champion’s mentality. I feel I know what it takes to win, but I haven’t done it. I’m looking for a guide to tell me what I did wrong”, the former MVP admitted.
“I want to learn a bit more. I feel I know a lot, but I want to keep learning. All these years I didn’t have a mentality like the one around me”, he concluded. Embiid explained that adding new faces to the project feels refreshing after a season in which, injured, he didn’t even feel like setting foot in the facilities. Staying healthy remains his main goal for this campaign, and hence his weight loss.
“He’s another guy who can demand accountability from the rest”, LeBron says of Jaylen Brown. “Because they’ve seen him reach the finish line”. Brown himself found himself outside his comfort zone and, judging by his words, seems to accept it naturally. “Patience is a virtue. God is patient with me, so I have the capacity to be patient with other people. Letting the game come to me, taking my time. The season is long and I must know when to be aggressive, when to attack and when to keep my teammates involved”.
(Cover photograph by Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)