Most Sixers fans know the general story of Joel Embiid’s unlikely path to the NBA, but at least in part because Mr. Process has kept the story to himself, we didn’t have too many details about his relationship with former Sixer and fellow Cameroonian Luc Mbah a Moute.
Mbah a Moute played in Philly for just one season, but he made a quiet impact on both The Process and “The Process.” Luc provided veteran leadership, solid defense, and a steadying hand for Brett Brown’s undermanned roster, but he was also in a Sixers uniform to keep an eye on Embiid while he rehabbed his foot.
Jackie MacMullan wrote a great story on ESPN.com about Embiid, Mbah a Moute, and basketball in Cameroon:
It’s now the second morning of Mbah a Moute's 2011 camp, and a jittery Embiid sets up in the post, just as Hakeem Olajuwon had done in the tapes Touomou had given him to review. The entry pass to him is woefully off target, but Embiid swallows it with one hand. He dribbles, spins, drop-steps, gathers himself and explodes to the hoop.
Mbah a Moute is seeing Joel Embiid play for the first time. He turns to his coaches. "How long did you say this kid has been playing?"
"I knew guys who had been in the NBA for years who couldn't do that," Mbah a Moute says now.
The story also touches on another reason why Embiid doesn’t enjoy talking about his relationship with Mbah a Moute: It brings back memories of his enthusiastic younger brother Arthur, who was tragically killed by a truck careening out of control coming down a hill in 2014.
The article isn’t a super long read, and it definitely shines some new light on Embiid’s past and hopefully now a brighter future for basketball in Cameroon. And yeah, the Sixers are pretty grateful for Mbah a Moute. If he never turns into an NBA player, there is a good chance Joel Embiid is playing volleyball right now.
In case you missed it at PhillyVoice
1. KYLE LOWRY: The Philly native has been a major talking point today in Philadelphia, and hey, I wrote about him last week.
2. DEFENSE, PACE, AND SPACE: Ranking the top draft prospects by Brett Brown’s criteria.
3. SIXERS BEAT: Chatting Lonzo Ball and De’Aaron Fox.
4. HOLDING COURT: The Sixers are going old school in the best way with their new court design.
Other Sixers news, notes and analysis from around the web
Love of the game takes Parc chef to Camden, where he feeds the 76ers: Allison Steele, Philadelphia Inquirer
Here’s a good story about the Sixers team chef and his unusual journey to working at the team’s Camden training facility:
Most days Cho and his sous chef also prepare buffet-style dishes for the few dozen members of the coaching staff and other administrators who work in his side of the 125,000-square-foot building. The work itself is similar to a restaurant kitchen shift, he said, but he’s finished by late afternoon instead of midnight or later.
“I’m a cog in this huge system, but some of the guys are really into food, and they want to taste different things,” he said. “My goal every day is to introduce them to something they didn’t know yesterday.”
We're Still Talkin' About Practice!: Timeline of references to Allen Iverson's legendary presser: Sports Illustrated
On the anniversary of Iverson’s famous press conference (Shoutout to Phil Jasner!), SI compiled the many times that other athletes have celebrities have referenced the practice rant.
Should Lonzo Ball or Markelle Fultz be No. 1 in the 2017 draft? Kevin Pelton and Chad Ford, ESPN Insider
This article isn't Sixers specific, but come next week, it might be:
I've been Team Ball most of the season. But I've been digging into the video over the past month and watching more and more NBA action in the playoffs, and it leads me to believe that as much as I love Ball's unselfishness and elite court vision, Fultz has the game that is better-suited to the way the league has evolved over the past few years. Ball will need the right coach, right offense and right teammates to succeed. I see Fultz thriving on any team.
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