1. The Process
Joel Embiid landed in Florida in 2010, fresh from Cameroon. At the age of 16, he spoke little English and didn’t know anyone in America.
Joel signed up for a summer basketball camp three months before his trip. That was his first time playing basketball. At seven feet, he dunked on another player on the first day.
Luc Mbah, a Cameroonian NBA player, saw Joel’s potential at the camp. He made calls and got Joel an offer to play high school basketball at Mbah’s alma mater in the US.
When he showed up for his first practice at his new high school, Joel was brutally bad. Beyond dunking, he had no fundamentals. The coach said he was terrible and asked him to leave the gym. His new teammates laughed at him. He tried to defend himself and ask them to trust the process.
They said, “LOL NAH YOU SUCK.”
Joel returned to the dorm, devastated. He looked up plane tickets back to Cameroon.
“This is crazy. What am I even doing here?”
2. Studying The Best Players
In his dorm room, he turned on some Lil Wayne rap music. The pain from the humiliation faded a little. Slowly a strong sense of motivation emerged.
He didn’t believe that was the end yet.
He said, “I’m just going to work and work in the gym until I’m good. KOBE.”
His coach in Cameroon sent him an hour-long tape of the best big men in the NBA. Joel put the video on repeat every day for three years.
YouTube became his second coach. After endless hours, he noticed the best shooters all share a few things in common: tucked elbows, bent knees, and smooth follow-through. He started to imitate what he saw while practicing daily with a friend.
He imagined himself to be a good basketball player.
3. Consistency of the Work
After Kobe Bryant retired, Joel had an opportunity to meet him.
When Kobe walked into the room, Joel told him he started playing basketball seven years ago because of him and how he’d shoot the ball at the park and yell, “Kobe!”
Kobe laughed. He then said to Joel:
“O.K., young fella. Keep working, keep working.”
Joel went to the gym after.
Joel Embiid (1994–) is a professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers. In May 2023, he won his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He has averaged over 30 points per game in the last two seasons, including a career-high of 59 points against the Utah Jazz in November 2022.
Reference: Wikipedia, It’s Story Time (Joel’s article)