Joel Embiid

Joel Hans Embiid was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, to Christine and Thomas Embiid. He formed an early interest in volleyball and initially planned to play the sport professionally in Europe. However, Embiid took up basketball when he was 15 and moved to the United States at age 16 to focus on the sport. He enrolled at Montverde Academy and later transferred to The Rock School, in Gainesville, Florida. There, he posted per-game averages of 13.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots as a senior, helping his team to a state championship. That year, Embiid played in both the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoops Summit. After one year at the University of Kansas, Embiid reached the NBA, becoming the third Cameroonian-born player in league history. Since joining the Association, Embiid has performed numerous charitable acts. In 2018, he participated in the NBA Africa Game and Basketball without Borders camp in Johannesburg, South Africa. That year, he also handed out goodies and spent time with 200 local children at a Philadelphia-area Boys & Girls Club. In 2020, Embiid donated $500,000 to COVID-19 relief and teamed with Sixers' Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer to make a $1.3 million donation to Penn Medicine for Critical Support of Health Care Workers Fighting COVID-19. Learn more about Embiid by following him on Twitter (@JoelEmbiid) and on Instagram (@joelembiid). Embiid played for Kansas for one season, the 2013-14 campaign. The seven-foot center came off the bench for the first eight games of the season and scored in double digits four times. After a loss to Colorado, coach Bill Self inserted Embiid into the starting lineup against Florida. He started 15 conference games and averaged 11.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. His many standout games included a 13-point, 11-rebound, eight-block performance in a win over Oklahoma State. During that lone season, Embiid averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.6 blocks despite playing just 23.1 minutes per game. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Big 12 Second Team, as well as the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. Prior to the postseason, Embiid suffered a stress fracture in his back and did not play for the Jayhawks in either the Big 12 or NCAA Tournament. After his freshman season, Embiid declared for the 2014 NBA Draft and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the third overall pick.