Joel Embiid is a funny guy.
Excuse me, kid. That’s what 20-year-olds are: kids. Embiid definitely has the body of a man, and he’ll be expected to conduct himself like a man, but 20-year-olds are, at their core, kids still trying to find their way. That’s what Embiid is. That’s what his Twitter account represents.
It’s the thoughts and musings of an actual 20-year-old that aren’t filtered or watered down or contrived or tweeted by anyone other than himself. It’s where he goes to playfully recruit LeBron James:
@KingJames hey bro hope you're having a good day…… Want to join us in philly?? Peace
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 1, 2014
Day 3: still no answers…………
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 4, 2014
It’s where he jokingly hits on famous people who are already spoken for:
Hey I want you to come slide in my DMs @KimKardashian
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 16, 2014
It’s where he then finds out said famous person is spoken for:
Oh I didn't know you were married sorry @KimKardashian just saw it from the fan's tweet… have a nice day
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 16, 2014
It’s where he’ll then turn his attentions to a more realistic female pursuit:
Hey baby holla at me!! Dinner at giorgios at 930pm @rihanna????
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 22, 2014
It’s where he needles his nearly 350,000 followers about the Kevin Love trade:
First thing when I get 2k, I put the whole SIXERS squad on 99
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) August 27, 2014
It’s where he still talks about his unrequited infatuation with a certain pop star:
Also creating Rihanna on the game so we can average double doubles and be MVPs
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) August 27, 2014
It’s where Embiid is Embiid, and where Embiid gives us a glimpse into Embiid, the fun-loving man-child who has no use for an army of public relations specialists crafting clever, yet safe messages in 140 characters or less.
More importantly, Twitter is a place where Embiid can, for now, actually be Embiid without worrying about the Philadelphia 76ers shutting him down.
Take what general manager and tank-job extraordinaire Sam Hinkie said, per Jason Wolf of The News Journal:
I told him I want him to take over my Twitter account,” Hinkie said. “Maybe my followers will pick up. I think I’m at 20 or so right now.”
“I think he’s, for a Twitter newbie, I think he’s found the line in a way that is entertaining and people have had lots of laughs,” Hinkie said. “Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of February or late in March or in the middle of a road trip where some of that humor doesn’t go over quite as well. He’s adjusted pretty well so far
The NBA needs more real Twitter accounts like Embiid’s. Not ones run by those employed by said player, and not those ones that are honest, yet filled with racial slurs, soft core photography or pointless, profanity-packed arguments.
Embiid’s Twitter account is an escape in itself. It’s not impacted by conventional wisdom or tradition. There may be lines, some of which Embiid even crosses, but his thoughts appear to be blissfully unaware of those lines.
Stupid though it sounds, this is refreshing. It helps humanize Embiid, who is, in fact, human. It helps humanize the entire NBA player-base in a way, reminding fans and pundits that they’re regular people—in some cases, kids—too.
Too often NBA players are placed upon this intimidating pedestal, idealized and mythologized because they’re famous and good at basketball and make lots of money and own more bentleys than you. But they are just people. Some of them are awesome, some of them are dicks. Some are soft-spoken, some are loud.
All of them are just people.
Embiid’s reflections, however brief or facetious or insane, are a reminder of this. All of this. They are thoughts from a real, live human being with actual opinions and jokes, and not just products to pimp or charities to promote. They are innocent and comical on the surface, profound in nature. They are everything that can be right between players and the outside world—members of which would slowly, surely realize that the athletes they’re idolizing and critiquing and hating and loving and projecting onto are people too, if only more accounts were as unfettered and true as Embiid’s.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
