Embiid is the first center to average 30 points per game in 40 years
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For most players, 41 points on 14-of-17 shooting is a career night. For Joel Embiid this season, it’s just another night at the office. The Philadelphia 76ers center dominated the Indiana Pacers to give his team its 50th win of the season, and in the process put a cherry on top of his remarkable season.
Now that LeBron James will miss the end of the Lakers‘ season and miss eligibility for the scoring title, Embiid has all but locked up the honor. If he sits out Sunday’s finale against the Detroit Pistons, Giannis Antetokounmpo would need 77 points on Sunday to pass him. If he plays and scores zero points, Antetokounmpo would need 47, but if he does play, he could obviously push the bar even higher.
Beyond the scoring title, Embiid made another bit of offensive history on Saturday. Even if he plays and goes scoreless Sunday, he will finish the season averaging more than 30 points. That makes him the first center in 40 years to average 30 points per game in a season. Stars like David Robinson (29.8 in 1994), Shaquille O’Neal (29.7 in 2000) and Patrick Ewing (28.6 in 1990) all came close, but none reached the threshold since Moses Malone in 1982.
Malone is an appropriate comparison for Embiid. He won three MVP awards during his Hall of Fame career. Embiid is trying to win his first and has publicly lobbied for the honor. Malone won a championship with the 76ers. Embiid is trying to lead Philadelphia to its first NBA title since.
He still has a long way to go on that front. The 76ers are currently slated for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, not an ideal launching point for a championship run. Should they face the Toronto Raptors in the first round, they will be without unvaccinated wing Matisse Thybulle in their road games. James Harden has struggled lately, and the trade for him deprived the 76ers of key depth.
But their constant throughout all of this has been Embiid. He kept the team afloat before Harden arrived. He has led them even afterward. He is having one of the greatest offensive seasons a big man has ever had in NBA history, and now, that season is going to be recognized in the history books forever.
