Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid 'Has Something to Prove' This Summer

During the 2019-2020 NBA Season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid caught a lot of heat for his performances. By no means was Embiid a scrub on the court this year (he made the All-Star team for the third season in a row, after all), but something was obviously different. And over time, Embiid acknowledged that about himself. 

Oftentimes throughout the year, the Sixers' big man looked uninterested while playing. Pumping up the crowd wasn't as fun for him. The shimmying and smack-talking was no longer a thing, and Embiid admitted at a point that his lack of enjoyment playing the game was beginning to affect his production on the court.

"I haven't been having fun," said the Sixers big man after a game back in December. "It goes back to being mature. One of the biggest parts of my game is just having fun. By having fun means talking trash, but that part of my game has been cut, so I just need to be myself, and I guess just do whatever I want because when I'm having fun, I dominate."

It took a little while, but after the All-Star break this season, Embiid started showing signs of getting back to his old ways. There was more crowd interaction and trash-talking -- and the result of that showed better production on the stat sheets.

Before the NBA's season suspended, Embiid was feeling like he was getting back to his true self as the Sixers were gearing up for a playoff run. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold for the last few months. Just because the season went on a hiatus, though, doesn't mean it's lost. 

This month, the Sixers will participate in training camp 2.0 before heading out to Orlando, Florida, to conclude the season with eight regular-season games and an ordinary playoff bracket. Knowing that an NBA return is a sure thing, Embiid has been ramping up his solo training sessions, so he's ready for the Sixers' third-straight playoff run.

"We've been going at it for the past four weeks, about six times a week," Embiid told Sixers Digital Reporter Lauren Rosen. "[I'm] just trying to get a head start and get ready for whatever's coming. I have something to prove, and I feel like whenever that opportunity comes, it's going to be my time."

After losing in devastating fashion during a do-or-die game against the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs last season, Embiid has been focused on the 2020 NBA Postseason ever since. While the playoff circumstances this year will be notably different, Embiid plans to enter the tournament with the same goal of getting revenge from last season and bringing the trophy home to Philadelphia. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_