Philadelphia 76ers give NBA MVP runner-up Joel Embiid super-max deal worth 196 million dollars

Joel Embiid signed a multi-year extension with the 76ers, marking a long-term commitment to his city.

Joel Embiid has been an integral part of the 76ers roster for the past few seasons, Image credit: Twitter
By Amruth Kalidas | Aug 18, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to terms on a four-year, 196 million dollars super max contract extension. It’s the largest contract Philadelphia can offer Embiid at this time. Embiid has two years remaining on his current contract. This deal will now secure the 2020-21 NBA MVP runner-up on the Sixers’ roster until 2027.

The new deal brings Embiid’s earnings to 261 million dollars over the next six seasons, all of which is fully guaranteed. The final year of his deal does have a player option. He’ll be 33 years old and could sign to another lucrative deal if he manages to stay healthy and keep up his MVP-caliber level of play.

JOEL EMBIID – THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE

The Cameroon native has been the face of the franchise through a massive rebuild and a rise into the NBA’s elite ranks. Embiid is coming off a spectacular season where he finally began to hit the 3-pointers, making 37.7 percent from beyond the arc while also shooting career-highs on 2-pointers and free throws. He carried the Sixers to a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with his dominant play on both ends of the floor every game. Had it not been for him playing just 51 out of 72 games, Embiid very well could’ve been named MVP instead of Nikola Jokic.

“I wasn’t even supposed to play basketball. Starting to play basketball at 16 – it was tough learning. But I’ve always been willing to want to be better, and improve at everything, in everything that I do,” recalls Embiid.

“I always like to say my life is a movie, because everything just happened so fast. My first few years everybody said, probably, I won’t play an NBA game. And sometimes, I did kind of believe in it – but I still stayed focused on the work I put in every day.”

That last part is the area for concern. The 7-foot, 280-pound centre missed the first two entire seasons of his career with foot and back issues. He is yet to play more than 64 games in a regular season. In the previous two seasons combined Embiid missed 41 games. However, he only missed one game in the postseason — which came in the first round against the Washington Wizards. Embiid still suffered a meniscus tear that he played with throughout the remainder of the playoffs.

KEY PLAYERS SIGNING EXTENSIONS

This offseason is marked by several all-Star and key players agreeing to extensions with their existing teams. Among the big names to ink deals this offseason are the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (reported 215 million dollars deal) the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (207 million dollars), the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (207 million dollars), the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant (198 million dollars), the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler (184 million dollars), the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (172 million dollars), The New York Knicks’ Julius Randle (117 million dollars ) and the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart (77 million dollars).





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