Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid has had a busy offseason. He capped it off this past week with a block party for city youth and by speaking at UN week about investing in sports in Africa.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid has had a busy offseason, and he’s not slowing down.
Friday night, the star center hosted a block party for Philadelphia Youth Basketball at the Alan Horowitz “Sixth Man” Center in the Nicetown section of the city on Friday night in honor of his late brother Arthur.
‘In Memory of Arthur’ Block Party. pic.twitter.com/2NWzUFKn4q
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) September 28, 2024
Kids in attendance were treated to sports drills, games, snacks and a chance to get up close to some of the Sixers’ squad, including the 7-foot big man himself of course.
“It’s important because I’m from Cameroon, third-world country — Africa in general. And growing up having been around a lot of struggle, that’s always been a goal of mine, to have some sort of impact, especially with the youth, because that’s what I believe; the next generation is going to be important. That’s always been my belief and my goal, so I’m happy,” Embiid explained to reporters at the event. “It wasn’t (just) me. I’m thankful for the people that put all this together.”
That included appearances from a number of Embiid’s teammates, new and old. Tyrese Maxey and KJ Martin as well as Sixers-newcomers Paul George, Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele were all at Embiid’s side Friday night.
“(His teammates being there) means a lot. Obviously, Tyrese being the main one. He always likes to give me the credit, but I had nothing to do with where he’s gotten. Hardest-working guy I’ve ever been around. Just to see the success that he’s had … like I always say, he’s up next and he’s going to be the one that puts us where we’re supposed to be as far as winning. And for the new guys — PG, some of the other guys … I spent a lot of time recruiting Paul [smiles], so I’m happy that he’s here,” Embiid said. “We have a lot of new guys — Drum being back; Guerschon … I’ve got someone I can speak French with, which is good, although the French people hate me [smiles]. It’s great.”
Also in attendance shooting hoops with Embiid was the center’s four-year-old mini-me: his son, Arthur. Joel named his firstborn after his younger brother that died in a car crash at age 13 in their home-country of Cameroon back in 2014.
“It’s still tough thinking about the whole thing. He’s one of the reasons I’m doing this,” Embiid spoke about his late brother. “He’s someone that cared about everybody. It’s funny, all the stories that I heard — because I hadn’t been around since I left Cameroon — and going back after his death, all the stories that I heard … just someone that cared about anybody and that was always giving back.”
The event was capped off with the unveiling of an immortalization of Embiid and his brother, with a 70-by-10 foot mural of Philadelphia’s star center overlooking the “In Memory of Arthur” Court at the Sixth Man Center.
forever Philly. ❤️@JoelEmbiid hosting ‘In Memory of Arthur’ Block Party for the youth as he celebrates his commitment to the city of Philadelphia.
mural by Tiff Urquhart pic.twitter.com/k6i25M2HvE
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) September 27, 2024
Even putting aside his basketball accomplishments this offseason, including helping Team USA win gold at the Paris Olympics and signing a three-year, $193 million extension, Embiid has kept himself busy this offseason helping the communities that mean the most to him, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to taking a trip back to Cameroon with his family after the Olympics, just last week Embiid spoke at a summit during United Nations week in New York City. Alongside Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who grew up in Nigeria and is the founder of the Giants of Africa program, Embiid got to speak about the benefits and opportunities in investing in sports for African youth.
“It was all about Africa. Masai has been doing a great job. I’m one of the guys that has been successful and that he’s helped — and there’s a lot of us. He’s been doing that for years. So I feel like using that opportunity, it makes sense. Like we talked about, we don’t have a lot of opportunities, but there’s a lot of me. Maybe not me, but there’s a lot of extremely talented guys — maybe more talented than me — but we just don’t have the opportunity. So I think it was extremely important to go there and to just keep pushing Africa because I believe, with the right structure … we have a pretty good chance of achieving some of the stuff that some of us have.”
It seems to be a continuing ethos behind everything Embiid does: trusting the process and putting in the work. Those are the traits he wants to pass on to the kids watching him, whether in Philly or in Cameroon.
“I don’t know. Humble? I don’t know. People don’t think I’m humble. [Smile.],” Embiid said. “I think just (being) hard-working. A lot of people know my story and I would not be here if I hadn’t put the work in.
“There’s no way, starting (playing basketball) at 16, that I’m supposed to be here. But as long as you put the work in and trust the process, it’s going to end up paying off.”