THE BLACK SPRINTER van had just made the turn
out of the CBS Studios lot when Joel Embiid made an
announcement. “I don’t want to be an actor,” the Sixers
star says. Last fall, he linked up with WME, the powerful
talent agency, in part to f igure out what his post-playing
career could look like. An hour on the set of The Late,
Late Show With James Corden running through a sketch
during an off day in Los Angeles isn’t exactly sending
Embiid into acting workshops. “I could do it from time
to time,” says Embiid. “But every day? Ten hours a day?
I don’t have the patience for that. I could be good at it.
But I’d rather stay home and sleep.”
It’s also been suggested that Embiid—still just 28—could
be an NBA exec. League minutiae has long fascinated
Embiid. He’ll regularly buzz Sixers president Daryl Morey
to discuss everything from draft evaluations to the salary
cap. But full-time? “Nah,” says Embiid. “Too much travel.
If I want to travel, I’m doing it outside the U.S.”
It’s late March, and Embiid is stretched out in a front
seat by the door of the van, his right leg dangling off a
railing. He’s opining about the future, but the sight of
Embiid elevating his right foot is enough to give Philly
fans f lashbacks—Embiid missed his first two seasons
after being drafted third in 2014 with a recurring foot
injury—but the appendage hasn’t bothered him in years.
Everything else? Well...Embiid prefers not to discuss
injuries, if only to avoid being associated with them
again. “I’ve overcome that,” says Embiid. “People used
to believe I was never going to play or that I was never
going to be good. I don’t want that to creep back in. I’m
healthy. I’m fine. I’m good.” His scars, though, tell a
story. The one on his left leg, to repair a torn meniscus
in his knee, in ’17. On his left hand, the result of surgery
to repair a torn ligament in ’20. This season Embiid
60 has regularly sported heavy tape on his right wrist. In a
maropa
(Maropa)
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