NBA coaches speak to dominance displayed by Joel Embiid, one of the league’s most unstoppable players

The MVP candidate has refined his game. He picks the best spots for his shot. Embiid is also making a wide variety of shots. Altogether, his offensive toolbox is packed and opponents frustrated.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid during shootaround before a game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published April 3, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

MILWAUKEE — Listening to opposing NBA coaches, one realizes Joel Embiid is somewhat unguardable.

Sure there will be nights when he’s off his game or commits too many turnovers. But for the most part, the 76ers center has blossomed into the league’s most unstoppable player.

A lot of that comes from being positioned more this season at the middle of the foul line, denying opponents opportunities to double- and triple-team him.

“That’s one of the hardest places to guard somebody,” Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I think you’ve probably seen over the years that the really, really good scorers are going to go there. Especially when you get to the playoffs, they are going to go right there.”

It becomes hard to double-team him because there’s too many moving pieces in that area, leading to defenses becoming vulnerable.

But that’s not the only reason Embiid is becoming unstoppable.

“What’s made it hard is he makes all those shots,” Nurse said. “It’s like one after another, after another, after another. That gets a bit discouraging.”

Embiid finished with 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in Sunday’s 117-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. For the season, he’s averaging a league-best 33.0 points. Embiid is also seventh (10.2) in the league in rebounds and sixth (1.7) in blocks.

But offensively, Embiid has been a walking bucket.

Heading into the game, he was shooting a career-best 54.4% from the field. That included the six-time All-Star having made 49.8% of his shots from 10-to-16 feet. He was at 48.6% from 16 feet to three-point line and 33.7% on three-pointers.

“It’s like he’s going to take a perimeter shot,” Nurse said of the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder. ”But his perimeter shooting has been so good that it’s just another thing you got to worry about. You have to worry about him running you over and laying it in. You got to worry about him in the early post-up. You got to worry about each block in the post-up. You got to worry about him steamrolling down the lane in a pick-and-roll with [James] Harden.

“Now, he’s got this, too. And he’ll also pick and pop for threes. But the great players have all that stuff.”

Opposing teams have to prepare for all those things. And for the Raptors, it was lengthy prep for the MVP candidate before Friday’s 117-110 loss to the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center. In that game, Embiid had a modest 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting along with 12 rebounds. It was his 38th double-double this season.

He has scored 30 or more points 43 times this season. Embiid scored at least 40 points 12 times. His highlight was a career-high 59 points in a 105-98 home victory over Utah Jazz on Nov. 13.

“Really, really high IQ, he’s smart,” Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He really understands angles and gets fouled. I think [Bucks forward] Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is the only guy that gets to the free-throw line more than he does. He shoots threes, plays in the mid-range, and plays [with his] back to the basket. He always has a good awareness of how to get others involved and pass the basketball.”

But Donovan knows Embiid can do much more than dominate offensively.

The seventh-year veteran is one of the league’s best two-way players. Embiid has blocked at least three shots in 16 games. He had a career-high seven blocks in the Nov. 13 victory over the Jazz. He also had six blocks against the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 23.

“He really can protect the rim, can move his feet in the pick and roll, can keep people in front of him,” Donovan said. “He’s a hard guy to finish over. He’s played really well this year.”