Is Joel Embiid a Hall of Famer? NBA experts weigh in

Is Joel Embiid a Hall of Famer? NBA experts weigh in originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sixers fans will not see Joel Embiid play anymore this season. The complications surrounding his left knee won’t allow him to do so, and the team has no solidified treatment plan in place, at least none that they’ve shared with anyone.

Thinking optimistically, the team will open the 2025-26 season with its star ready to go. On the flip side, if they can’t find a way to allow for Embiid to play pain-free, his NBA career could be over at the age of 31.

His career has certainly been a roller coaster to this point, with just as many gut-wrenching low points (and holding patterns) as dizzying heights.

If Embiid does happen to hang them up, is his career worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame?

It’s a debatable premise. At his best, few have been better. He played nine seasons, was named to the All-Star game in seven of them, and earned five All-NBA honors. He is one of seven players in NBA history to post multiple 30-point, ten-rebound seasons. He won the league’s MVP two years ago, finished second in the voting twice. He won two scoring titles, and was well on his way to a third (and maybe a second MVP trophy) last season before missing two months with a torn lateral meniscus that required surgery. When healthy, he is arguably among the best two-way players of his era.

When healthy.

His injury battles are the other side of the argument. From the start of his career, injuries have hounded him, injuries that ranged from logical to ridiculous. He was selected third in the 2014 Draft, and didn’t make his NBA debut until two years later, after breaking (and re-breaking) a bone in his foot.

It was first the foot, then the left knee. He broke his face, tore up his finger, hurt his right knee, came down with COVID-19, tore a ligament in his thumb, broke his face again, needed left knee surgery, and even dealt with a bout of Bell’s palsy, temporarily paralyzing his face. Beginning with the 2016-17 season, Embiid played 452 regular season games. By the end of this season, he will have missed 267 games, or more than three full seasons.

He also comes up short when it comes to leading his team to playoff success. In his 9-year career, his team did not advance past the second round in any postseason, and his statistical output isn’t nearly as good as those he posts in the regular season.

So where does that leave him? I asked several NBA experts about Embiid’s Hall-worthiness, receiving responses that made solid points for both sides of the argument.

Marc Zumoff, former NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers play-by-play voice: This is a sticky question because after some quick research, it doesn’t appear that an MVP or the winner of a scoring title (Joel has done both) has ever not gone, or seems destined to go, to the Hall of Fame. Joel has already played close to the same amount of games as the late Hall of Famer Bill Walton, though Walton won two NBA titles and two NCAA titles. Those titles are the difference. If Joel was forced to retire today, I’d say no, he’s not a Hall of Famer. But hopefully there are many more productive seasons to come.

Kurt Helin, Lead NBA writer/managing editor, NBCSports.com: While “worthy” is an eye of the beholder question (I tend to have higher standards than the Hall voters themselves), but to me this is a pretty easy answer once I thought about it. Much to the dismay of Philly fans, I would say yes. Unequivocally.

Every former MVP has made the Hall (those still active have yet to be elected but will be). Embiid’s resume — two-time scoring champion, five-time All-NBA, seven-time All-Star, three-time All-Defense — is that of a Hall of Famer. I don’t think he’s done, but if his career ended today we would look back in five years and see a guy who was one of the most dominant players of his generation, even if he didn’t live up to his own potential. His career might be seen as a bit of a disappointment in Philadelphia because of the lack of playoff success, but that’s not all that goes into the Hall of Fame.

Embiid makes it.

Marc Jackson, NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers analyst, 7-year NBA Veteran: He’s a Hall of Fame talent. Unfortunately, because of the length of his career he would not be in the Hall of Fame.

Marcus Hayes, Columnist, The Philadelphia Inquirer: Considering the low bar to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame, certainly, with his All-Star appearances and MVP award, he deserves to be in the Hall. However, if it were a more demanding Hall of Fame, such as baseball, then I think his brief career, combined with his postseason failures, his decreased postseason production, his poor character, and his abysmal professionalism and leadership would disqualify him for most voters.

Noah Levick, Sixers beat writer, NBC Sports Philadelphia: Embiid’s already cleared the Hall of Fame bar.

For one, he’s checked a lot of major boxes — MVP; two-time scoring champion; seven-time All-Star; Olympic gold medalist. The precedent is that those sorts of players are Hall of Famers.

As Sixers fans know, Embiid’s (healthy) presence has dramatically elevated the team on both sides of the ball. Between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons, he averaged an efficient 31.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals. It also doesn’t hurt that he set an all-time Sixers scoring record with an impossibly easy-looking 70-point performance.

The broad criticism that Embiid hasn’t experienced much playoff success is valid, but his postseason body of work does feature plenty of positives. The main reason the Sixers failed to advance to the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals was the team’s failure to play remotely passable basketball with Embiid on the bench, which has been a theme of his career. He’s often gutted it out through significant physical problems — donning a protective mask after suffering orbital fractures, playing through Bell’s palsy, you name it — to post big playoff numbers.

For instance, he dropped 50 points in Game 3 of the Sixers’ first-round loss to the Knicks last year and averaged 33.0 in the series. The playoffs are not the brightest spot on Embiid’s résumé, but his postseason play is nowhere close to a legitimate reason to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

More games under Embiid’s belt would obviously help. They’re not necessary, though. He’s played 452 regular-season NBA games. Hall of Fame centers Ralph Sampson, Bill Walton and Yao Ming all played under 500 because of injury woes. Whatever comes next for Embiid, he deserves Hall of Fame status one day.

Alaa Abdelnaby, NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers color analyst, 5-year NBA veteran: I’d say yes because there has never been an NBA MVP who didn’t go into the Hall. There are 9 MVPs (including Joel) who are still playing that will eventually all get in. Whatever views people have of him, it would be unprecedented for him not to get in.

Jim Lynam, NBC Sports Philadelphia Sixers analyst, former NBA head coach and general manager: For me it’s a resounding YES – with little or no debate. In essence, he is one of the most unique talents of all time. His individual numbers support the case that he was one of the most complete centers in the history of the game – a force on Offense & on Defense.

Ben Wallace, Bobby Jones and Mark Eaton are in (and rightly so) as three of the best defenders in the history of the NBA. None would be considered an overwhelming offensive talent. Embiid has been elite at BOTH ends of the floor for his first 8 seasons (his defense fell off dramatically this season).