The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. It’s Embiid’s fourth consecutive All-Star selection after being named a starter in each of the past three seasons. He’s the first 76ers player to be named a starter in four straight All-Star Games since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson started seven straight from 2000-06. Embiid is also the seventh player in franchise history to be named an All-Star starter at least four times. The only 76ers with more starting selections are Hall of Famers Julius Erving (11), Dolph Schayes (11) and Iverson (eight).
Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are the only players to be named starters in each of the last four All-Star Games. In his fifth NBA season, Embiid has helped lead the 76ers to an Eastern Conference-best 19-10 record, holding averages of 29.7 points (fourth in the NBA, second in the East), 10.8 rebounds (12th in the NBA, seventh in the East), 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game. No player in NBA history has posted such averages for a full season.
Over his last 12 games, Embiid has scored no fewer than 25 points, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Iverson as the only 76ers ever to score 25 plus in a dozen-or-more consecutive games. Over that span, Embiid is averaging 34.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .543 from the field and .400 from three-point range.
Embiid leads the league with averages of 9.7 free throws made and 11.3 free throws attempted per game. Just eight players have ever made better than 9.7 free throws per game for a full season, all Hall of Famers. His 222 made free throws are second in the NBA to Atlanta’s Trae Young, while the two are the only NBA players to make at least 200 free throws.
He and fellow 2021 All-Star starters Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokić are the only NBA players averaging at least 25 points and 10 rebounds this season. Embiid posted such averages in 2018-19 and is seeking to become the second 76er in franchise history to do so in multiple seasons, joining Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. The last 76er to average 29-plus points in a season was Iverson in 2005-06, while he and Chamberlain are the only Philadelphia players to do so.
Embiid leads the team with 20 20-point games, 12 30-point performances and two 40-point nights. His 15 double-doubles are 11th in the NBA and tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference, while his seven 30-point, 10-rebound outings are tied for the most in the NBA.
In the Eastern Conference frontcourt, Embiid finished second in media voting and third in both fan and player voting.
Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.
After all votes were tallied, players were ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters.
TNT will announce the NBA All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 23. The head coaches of each All-Star team will be the coaches of the teams with the best record in each conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 21.