Joel Embiid: LeBron James Drafting Me With 1st Pick Shows All-Star Voting Was Wrong

Joel Embiid was LeBron James' first pick in the 2023 All-Star draft, and he took that as a major honor.

The Philadelphia 76ers center told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports that being picked by James was evidence to him that the All-Star voting was wrong.

"The best player in the NBA, since he has been in the league for 20 years, he shows you that — and that's someone that's extremely smart, that knows basketball, you know, one of the smartest players ever," Embiid said.

" … Often you hear the media [say] this guy, that guy is better. And then I end up not being a starter, which is cool. But then again, someone like that comes out and picks you first. I mean, it shows you that maybe some of the guys that are saying that stuff and voting, they may be wrong."

Embiid finished fourth in fan voting and third in both player voting and media voting among Eastern Conference frontcourt players. He was originally selected as a reserve but was promoted to the starting player pool when Kevin Durant missed the All-Star Game with a knee injury.

The six-time All-Star has gotten used to playing second fiddle in recent seasons. He finished second behind Nikola Jokić in MVP voting in each of the last two year, and he may wind up doing so again in 2022-23.

"He was disappointed because he thought he deserved it," Embiid's trainer, Drew Hanlen, told Rohlin. "But that was it. I think a lot of people thought he was sulking. He just was like, 'OK, I've just got to win.'"

Embiid is currently second in the NBA in scoring (33.0 PPG) behind Luka Dončić while adding 10.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. By nearly every measurable statistic, it's the best season of his career. But it still does not quite match up to Jokić, who could become the first center in NBA history to average a triple-double.

Hanlen attributed Jokić winning MVP awards over Embiid to voters favoring "spreadsheets" over winning games. For his part, Embiid seems more intently focused on winning a championship at this point than individual accolades.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Embiid told Rohlin. " ... I just want to be respected. I'm competitive, so I play this game to be up there when you talk about the best basketball players ever. I know for that, you need awards, you need championships and all of that stuff. It's unfortunate because I don't get to decide on the individual awards."