National Basketball Association

Joel Embiid has a unique preparation for first game

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

It’s time for a thought exercise. Situation: you are Joel Embiid. The last two years, you’ve been held out entirely due to injury. Projections for your career have scattered from bust to potential All-Star. The team has a logjam at your position and has taken tremendous strides over the last few seasons to worsen their record. Last season was the worst, and The Process had its funeral procession.

This year, everything needs to be different. As Joel Embiid, you have your first chance to drive the franchise to a new destination. You will be on the floor during a game in a Sixers jersey for the very first time in your young life. I don’t need to tell you, but this is huge. All your preparation comes down to today. Everything needs to be perfect: amount of sleep, meals, mental state, everything. It’s 8AM. What’s the first thing you do?

Joel Embiid is ready for tonight pic.twitter.com/xGNS4pAjyO

— Noah Coslov (@NoahCoslov) October 4, 2016

If your answer was “watch whatever the hell that is and send out a couple heart-eyes emojis,” you were right. That one cat looks pissed but focused. I bet that’s what he’s trying to channel.

I am not an expert on children’s cartoons. The only one I’ve seen lately was with the one-eyed Dorito that tried to take over a small chunk of Oregon. That was pretty cool.

However, I am an expert on 3rd Year NBA Rookies with focuses on Pregame Routines and Emoji Choice. In my opinion, which is the best opinion, this signifies a confident yet casual demeanor in line with Joel’s typical social media curiosities. In staying true to his online presence, Joel is sending a message of “I am watching this cartoon right now.” The subtext to this is “I am also enjoying the cartoon that I am watching.” That may not sound like a huge deal, but yeah, you’re right; it really isn’t. It is pretty funny though.

Best of luck to Joel “White Cat Channeler” Embiid tonight. We’ll be watching on this big day.