He's been plagued by foot injuries over the past two seasons and didn't get the opportunity to step onto the court until two years after being drafted. But Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is finally healthy and is playing at a historic level in his first seven games.
The 2014 third-overall draftee is on a minutes restriction and doesn't play in games in which the Sixers are on a back-to-back. He's averaging just 22.1 minutes per contest.
But per 36 minutes, Embiid's name is currently among some of the NBA greats.
Embiid is averaging 29.3 points per 36 minutes, the most in league history among those who have played a minimum of 100 minutes. Travis Grant, who is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history from Kentucky State, is second on that list at 29.0 points per 36 minutes, Michael Jordan is third at 28.3 points, and George Gervin is fourth at 28.2 points.
While Embiid didn't enter the league as a 3-point threat, the former Kansas Jayhawk is knocking down 1.6 3s per 36 minutes. That ties sharpshooters Steve Kerr, Steve Nash, Mark Price, Glen Rice, Joe Johnson, Kevin Love and Dan Majerle. Embiid is hitting his 3s at a 50 percent rate (7-of-14), which is first among any player on that list.
Embiid has better stats per 36 minutes than some of the greatest centers in NBA history. He's ahead of Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing in points, rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes.
The one downside to Embiid's play early on has been his excessive amount of turnovers. While there are 250 players in the NBA who have played more minutes than Embiid, only 13 of them have more turnovers. He's averaging 7.7 turnovers per 36 minutes, three more than any player who has played at least 2,000 minutes since individual turnovers became official in 1977-78.
And no player in league history has finished a season with a usage rate of 40 percent or more, but Embiid is on his way to doing so. He trails only Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook in that category.