Jayson Tatum's Trainer 'Begged' 76ers to Pair Star with Joel Embiid in 2017 NBA Draft

Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid won a gold medal as teammates for the United States at the 2024 Olympics, but there's a scenario where they could have been playing together in the NBA if the Philadelphia 76ers had taken the advice of Tatum's trainer.

Speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Drew Hanlen said he "begged" Sixers officials to select Tatum in the 2017 NBA draft because of what a pairing with Joel Embiid could have looked like.

"I really thought that they would be the biggest tandem in the NBA," Hanlen added.

The 2017 draft has turned out to be one of the great inflection points in recent NBA history. Boston, coming off a 53-win season and Eastern Conference Finals appearance during the 2016-17 season, had swap rights with the Brooklyn Nets for the pick that turned out to be the No. 1 selection.

Philadelphia moved up to No. 3 in the lottery thanks to its swap rights with the Sacramento Kings.

Embiid, who was originally drafted in 2014, played his first season in 2016-17 due to multiple foot injuries. He showed tremendous promise as a rookie, averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 31 starts.

The Celtics and Sixers agreed to a trade three days before the draft that gave Philly the top pick, but McMenamin noted one condition of the deal was then-76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo had to assure Boston assistant general manager Austin Ainge he was going to draft Markelle Fultz because the Celtics were locked in on Tatum.

Colangelo lived up to his word by taking Fultz, who flamed out in Philadelphia due to a series of injuries and on-court struggles. He only appeared in 34 games with the Sixers over two seasons before being traded to the Orlando Magic in February 2019.

Tatum has developed into one of the best players in the NBA in his eight seasons with the Celtics. He's a five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA first-team selection and helped the Celtics win the 2023-24 NBA Finals.

The Sixers have had some good years since the 2017 draft with seven consecutive playoff appearances, but they've failed to advance beyond the second round since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 Finals.