I love when people tell me that I was gonna be a bust. I enjoy when people tell me, 'You suck. You can't dribble. You can't shoot,' because it's like, gotta go to the gym.
— Joel Embiid
I wanted to become president, and I wanted to become an astronaut. Because I was really good at math.
On the defensive end, I have to do my job.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm lost. But I've always said that I believe in God.
I think the concept of minute restrictions is kind of complicated. I don't think there should ever be minute restrictions. I think it should always be about how my body feels and how it's reacting.
I started playing basketball very late, and for me to make it to the league so fast... I've always said my life is a movie.
If I feel great and my body feels great and my knee is fine, I should play 30 minutes or more. I definitely have my opinion on that.
If I'm playing well, and we're winning games, that's what I want.
If I'm not making plays, I can't get the crowd going. When I'm making plays, that's where I can feel a vibe and can get into it with the crowd.
I feel like I have a lot of potential, a lot of stuff to show.
Every time, the mindset I get when I get on the floor is that I'm the best player on the floor.
I'm starting to figure it out - figure out my spots, where I should be on the court, where I'm most effective, and how I handle double teams - and it's paying off.
I want to be the Defensive Player of the Year and, if I have the chance, be MVP.
I don't like to be involved in front-office stuff.
When I look at myself, I'm not a big man - I'm a guard. I can do everything on the basketball court. You can name it - pass, post up, shoot the ball, bring the ball up, being a playmaker - so I'm excited to break that stereotype.
One thing when I started playing in the league, I saw that a lot of guys are friendly. It's OK to be friendly, especially off the court. But on the court, I want to dominate.
The Process is never going to end. It's an ongoing thing. I don't think it's ever going to stop. As I have explained before, it's a process for making it to the playoffs, it's another one to make the conference finals, another one to actually go to The Finals and win the championship.
I'm really not an injury-prone player. I just had that one injury that took, like, two years.
I love when guys come at the beginning of the game and start talking trash. It gets me going.
A lot of people just think I'm a big man, but I'm a basketball player. I am able to do everything that a basketball player can do - from playmaking and scoring to just passing the ball and just being a leader and post presence.
Whatever happens happens. If something happens, something happens. But I believe in God, and I pray every day.
I love when people talk trash.
I have lots of confidence in myself that I can fulfill my dreams and make the people of Philadelphia proud.
Back in 2011, I was kind of shy. I wasn't as good because that was the year, also, when I started playing basketball.
One thing the fans got to understand is that I missed two years, and we took it really, really slow, and we made sure everything was good, and my foot has been great.
I like playing in front of the crowd and get them into it.
It's just about working on everything, perfecting everything, like my 3-point shot or ball handling.
I want to win.
Every time I'm on the court, every time a fan cheers for me, I just want to go out and make a play for them to cheer even more.
Philly will be the place for me for my whole career.
I want to win the MVP. I feel like, at the end of the day, it might be an individual award, but when I play better, the team also does.
I'm trying to dominate, and if you dominate, you're going to be hated because you're going to talk so much stuff.
If I play against you the first time - or it doesn't even have to be the first time - and you want to be all physical and just talk, or talking trash or whatever, it just gets me going.
I want to be in Philly for the rest of my life.
In a season, you're going to go through slumps.
People have labeled the Process as whatever, tanking. I don't see it like that.
I always like to have some type of connection with the crowd.
I think it would've been a little easier if I grew up in America; they've got better conditions for basketball players. At the same time, many people have said to me that having to start playing so late helped me not pick up bad habits.
I'm not cocky, I'm humble, but I think I can be really special, one of the top players in the league.
If they're going to foul me, I'm going to step to the line and make some free throws.
I always dream about that type of moment. In my head, I always kind of create that scenario, just about, like, some type of winning shot or block that's going to, like, really get the crowd into it.
Trust 'The Process.'
I'm just going to do my job, what coach wants me to do, be a defensive piece, and when needed to be a scorer, I'm going to be that.
If the team needs me to recruit somebody, I'll be here. I'll be doing that.
Every time I get on the court, I want to push my teammates to be better as a leader and lead by example.
I want to be that type of guy - I want to be Kobe Bryant. I want to be Tim Duncan. I want to be Dirk Nowitzki - stay with one team my whole career.
When I sat down with Under Armour, one of the first things we talked about was how this can be bigger than just shoes, bigger than just basketball.
I don't really care about the friendships on the court. I got my friends. I got my family, which I'm close to. I got a couple of friends that I'm always around.
I love competing. I mean, if you ask anybody around me, my coaches, they know I love competing. I hate losing.
