Sixers’ Joel Embiid named All-Star starter for fourth consecutive season

Embiid became the franchise’s first player to be voted to start in four consecutive NBA All-Star Games since Allen Iverson did it seven straight times from 2000 to 2006.

Joel Embiid, above, is the first Sixer to be voted to start in four consecutive NBA All-Star Games since Allen Iverson did it seven straight times from 2000 to 2006.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Feb. 18, 2021, 7:18 p.m. ET

It’s hard to believe that Joel Embiid once came close to walking away from basketball.

Unable to play in his first two seasons, the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA draft considered giving up the sport.

He and the 76ers have to be rejoicing that he didn’t.

On Thursday, Embiid became the franchise’s first player to be voted to start in four consecutive NBA All-Star Games since Allen Iverson did it seven straight times from 2000 to 2006. Embiid was named one of the Eastern Conference starters when the starting fives for both conferences for the 70th All-Star Game were announced on TNT’s NBA Tip-Off show.

The All-Star reserves, selected by the league’s coaches, will be announced next Thursday. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are candidates to be reserves.

The All-Star Game will held at 8 p.m. on March 7 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (West) and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (East) led the 10 starters chosen in voting by fans, players, and a panel of reporters. The fans accounted for 50% of the vote totals, with media members and players accounting for 25% each.

James and Durant will serve as team captains after finishing as the top vote-getters in their respective conferences. The captains will select their rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves on March 4.

Starters from the Eastern Conference are Durant, Embiid, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal, and Nets point guard Kyrie Irving.

For the Western Conference, the starters are James, Los Angeles Clippers small forward Kawhi Leonard, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić.

Embiid finished third in the fan voting for Eastern Conference front-court players. He was third in the player voting and second in the media voting. Simmons was 11th in the fan voting for conference guards. He was sixth in player voting and seventh in media voting. Harris was 10th in player voting for conference front-court players. He was 13th in fan voting and tied for seventh in media voting.

Embiid is averaging a league fourth-best 29.7 points to go with 10.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 32.5 minutes in 23 games this season.

The 26-year-old has thrived despite battling injuries since being drafted by the Sixers. He sat out his first two seasons because of two foot surgeries. He had season-ending surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee during the 2016-17 campaign. The following year, he missed time because of an orbital bone fracture near his left eye. Then, Embiid missed time during the 2018-19 season with tendinitis in his left knee, and last season missed time after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ring finger.