Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is one of the brightest and most promising young players in the NBA. Embiid helped lead the Sixers to the third seed in the Eastern Conference and also made his first All-Star Game this season.
Even though he is 7’3 center, Embiid has actually been influenced by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Embiid admitted that Kobe was his idol growing up, and even shouted out the future Hall-of-Famer after a particularly Kobe-like shot. Now he may be channeling his inner-Mamba again.
Embiid suffered a broken orbital bone and will have to play with a facemask when he returns. Embiid has apparently decided to wear a black one, much like Bryant once did, as he revealed on Twitter:
“No one cared who I was until I put on the mask”…. The Phantom of The Process pic.twitter.com/JOkQxCAxYA
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) April 12, 2018
Unveiling it on Twitter and calling himself ‘The Phantom of The Process’ is about as Embiid of a move as could possibly be. Now the question on many people’s mind is who wears the black mask best.
Embiid and Kobe aren’t the only ones who have pulled out that style of mask as both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have pulled it out at different points of their careers. Of course, the most important thing for Embiid is that he returns and helps his team in their first playoff push together.
The 76ers have a legitimate chance to make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and possibly even the NBA Finals, but Embiid will need to be on the court at his best in order for that to happen.
In other words, channeling his inner Kobe with his performance on the court is more important than the mask.