Watch Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports Radio’s The Herd explain why he believes Joel Embiid’s ‘greatness’ has been vastly put into question during Team USA’s exhibition tune-ups before the Summer Olympics later this month, with Colin saying Embiid brings the American offense down every time he’s on the floor.
Check out the segment above as Colin says Embiid is closer to non-winning stat-padders like Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in the pantheon of NBA All-Stars than he is to the all-time great centers.
Colin Cowherd: “Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid are vying for a starting spot on the Olympic team... Against Serbia, Embiid had the worst plus/minus of any player for Team USA. Anthony Davis has been an absolutely dominant figure since he’s been on the floor.
Because the NBA is very into aesthetics and ‘style’, I get lectured for years about players. ‘CARMELO ANTHONY IS UNBELIEVABLE!’... He was a terrible defender, never in elite shape, a complete isolation player, very few assists, never made a teammate better, and didn’t do squat in the playoffs. I was told Derrick Rose was going to ‘dominate’ the league. A highly inefficient shooter, more turnovers than I like, and hurt all the time. I’m sorry, he’s not going to physically dominate the league. I was told that Westbrook was an ‘MVP.’ I always thought he was a stat-padder. Bad hands and can’t shoot for a guard. Hyper-athletic, but one speed, and often out of control. My eyes didn’t tell me that Westbrook was an MVP, that Carmelo was an absolutely dominant player, or that Derrick Rose was gonna run the league. And my eyes are telling me the same for years about Joel Embiid.
I’m not denying he’s got a Shaq feel to him, but Shaq won in the playoffs, and Shaq dominated when it mattered. I’m watching this Olympic thing... Embiid gets in the way of the offense. Anthony Davis doesn’t... Davis can be a star and dominate a game, but he’s also an incredibly complementary player. He complements LeBron and LeBron doesn’t have to worry about defending the rim. Davis can be a complementary player on this Olympic team, or he can dominate. With Embiid, there is not ‘complementary’ to his game. He forces you to play HIS style.
So does Steph Curry, but I get four titles. And so did LeBron, but I got eight straight Finals. With Embiid, he forces you to play his game and you don’t get the payoff at the end of the season. Embiid gets in the way of the Olympic offense, and I find sometimes in Philadelphia – yes, he’s productive, but so is Zach Lavine and the Bulls can’t give him away. So was Carmelo Anthony and Westbrook and they didn’t win in the playoffs. If you’re talking about the greatest bigs of all time: Russell – titles, Kareem – titles, Shaq – titles, Hakeem – titles... Embiid can’t win a second-round playoff series in the weaker conference.
You’re lecturing me on how ‘great’ he is... Well, ‘greatness’ in the NBA is May and June. Who gives a rip about January in Cleveland?? I want May and June success. I get it with Steph. Magic Johnson wasn’t a great defender, but he elevated everyone around him and got the payoff. Embiid to me is a great, productive talent, but he’s closer to Westbrook and Carmelo. I’m lectured on how ‘great’ he is but I’m not sure he elevates anybody.”
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