The Most Hated Player in Sports: Joel Embiid

Often referred to as a free throw merchant or a dirty player, Joel Embiid is definitely a polarizing player in basketball. Now will I admit that he does some questionable things on the court? Yes. However, the hate getting to an even higher level over him representing the USA in basketball is absolutely asinine. 

Embiid at Basketball without Borders Camp in Africa (NBA.com)

Joel Hans Embiid was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon on March 16th, 1994. He lived in Cameroon until he was 16 when he moved to the United States of America to pursue a basketball career. He went to high school in the USA and then attended Kansas for college. He has spent 16 years of his life in Cameroon and 14 years of his life in the USA. He is a US Citizen and his son was born in the United States.

Why does it matter that he wants to represent the USA? Patrick Ewing was born in Jamaica and played for Team USA twice in the Olympics. Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria and even went to High School there and also played in the Olympics representing the USA. You don’t hear anything about that do you? 

You know what else you don’t hear? Embiid being the news for off the court issues. He’s genuinely a good guy and has a good personality and is known for trolling and having a fun time. He has never done anything that would make someone question his character off the court. 

New York Times

Let’s go through what Embiid has been through since moving to the USA. First, he moved to a new continent where he knew absolutely no one and was thousands of miles away from his family. Then, he goes to high school and eventually enrolls in Kansas where he has a breakout season. However, his season ended how most of his seasons have, with an injury. (Damn that was a rough one to write out). He missed all of March Madness and he went on to wait 970 days to play his first game with Philadelphia due to injuries that caused him to miss his first two seasons with the Sixers. Oh yeah and during that time his younger brother tragically died back home in Cameroon at the age of 16 in a car crash. 

So for those keeping track:

Embiid between ages 16 and 22

• Moves to a completely new continent away from family.

• Misses March Madness due to injury.

• Misses 2014-2015 NBA season due to injuries.

• Loses his younger brother to a tragic car accident.

• Misses 2015-2016 NBA season due to injuries.

I don’t think people really understand what this guy has gone through or anything about his character. Overcoming those obstacles at such a young age in a brand new country and continent is truly remarkable. And keep in mind this dude dealt with younger brother’s death while being called the biggest bust in NBA history on multiple occasions by multiple different sports outlets. He’s mentioned how dark those times were for him and how he even considered quitting basketball.

Does he not represent the American Dream in every possible way? Leaving to go pursue a better life for his family. The USA is a melting pot of people from all over and that’s what makes us the best country in the world. Why is Embiid getting dogged on for representing a country that his son was born in and that he has lived in for close to half his life?

Embiid accepting his 2023 MVP with his son Arthur named after his brother who tragically passed away at the age of 16. (Photo from

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty)

Has Embiid choked in the playoffs a lot? Yes. Has he accomplished significantly less in the playoffs than he should have? Yes. But the fact that he was able to overcome those traumatic events and become a MVP and multiple-time scoring champion does not get the appreciation it should. Keep in mind we are talking about a guy who started playing basketball at age 15. 

Was the game against Canada frustrating and embarrassing for Embiid? Absolutely, I haven’t seen him that bad in a while. Though, it is absurd that people are slandering him and claiming they are rooting against our country because of him. I logged on Instagram today and the top 3 posts on my feed were about him fouling out. The comments on those posts were just brutal. People forget this was an exhibition game. The funny thing is if Embiid went off in the game the comments would be “classic meaningless game Embiid”. This guy is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. 

To conclude, I understand why some fanbases hate Embiid. Tensions got high in the Knicks series and Embiid was actually banned from the Empire State Building.

@EmpireStateBldg on X

I just wish more people truly knew his story and what he went through at a young age when first moving here. Not to mention the year after year of injuries that this guy has. Some may clown him for it and in the words of the great Doc Rivers “the best ability is availability” (shoutout the Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast). While that is true you gotta somewhat feel for the guy when every year he’s dealing with something else. Put yourself in his shoes and think about what you would do if every year another injury occurred in the playoffs ultimately ending your team's season. It would be a very tough pill to swallow, yet every year this guy manages to get even better and add more to his game.

I know this hate will continue until he wins something, or it won’t and it’ll continue even if he does win something. I just hope people eventually learn to appreciate everything this guy has gone through to cement himself as a future NBA Hall of Famer. Trust The Process.