Joel Embiid in jersey No. 24? Ring any bells? Because for as long as we have seen him, it’s 21. Not to mention, the 76ers have retired that number. So, when did ‘The Process’ rock No. 24? To understand that, we will first have to look at the ‘why’. Four words (four magical words) – KOBE.

Yeah, the ‘Black Mamba’ was the reason the 7-footer wore No. 24 for one night. In a late January matchup, just two days after the fateful accident that claimed the lives of nine people, two of which were Kobe and Gigi, Joel wore No. 24 in honor of the Lakers legend.

As mentioned above, Philly had retired the number in honor of Bobby Jones, former 76ers champion. But Embiid was determined to wear the No. 24. With that goal in mind, he reached out to the retired Hall of Famer for permission. He explained how the 5x champion was the reason he got into basketball. The now-72-year-old agreed but with one condition. Embiid had to play hard defense.” But why?

“I shared with Joel that Kobe, in addition to doing all that scoring, was a 12-time All-Defensive Player. I only made it 11 times, so there’s a lot of defense that goes into that No. 24… because that’s what the number 24 represents in my mind,” ‘The Secretary of Defense’ said (via Steve Keeley, Fox29).

Not only did he have eight defensive rebounds, but the night came full circle as he scored a tidy 24 points in the 115-104 win over the Warriors. So those wondering when Joel Embiid wore No. 24 after seeing the latest post by the Sixers’ official IG account, you have the answer.

Now, if you remember, in a 2018 Players’ Tribune article, Embiid recounted the surreal moment of meeting the late Kobe Bryant around the time he was retiring. “Man, I know you probably hear this a lot, but I literally started playing basketball because of you seven years ago. Whenever I’d be shooting the ball at the park, I’d be yelling out, ‘KOBEEEEEE!” he remembers telling the Lakers legend after Bryant played his last game in Philly.

In fact, Joel’s exposure to American culture was three guys – Bow Wow, Kanye and Kobe. So, you can imagine what he went through when he heard the terrible news. After all, it was one of those moments when the whole word united through one emotion.

However, looking back at the lanky kid from Cameroon, who barely spoke English, Joel Hans Embiid has surely come a long way.

Joel Embiid joins the NBA’s $500 million club with his shiny new $193 million extension

Would you believe it if you heard that Joel Embiid bettered his skills in his early days watching YouTube videos? In fact, “white people shooting three pointers” was exactly what he searched after not being able to crack three-point shooting drills with his Montverde Academy teammate, Michael Frazier II.

While he is not an elite three-point shooter, Embiid is a career 34.1% from downtown, with him averaging 38.8% last season – solid for a center. But he is far from the high school (or college, even) whose first thought after a tough game was to quit. Joel Embiid has embodied the Sixers’ ‘trust the process,’ becoming the No. 3 pick in 2014, despite his concerning injury-riddled history.

Fast forward to now and the man just inked an insane three-year $193 million contract extension. With that, his career earnings have become $514 million, effectively placing him in the $500 million club. The 2023 MVP is just the fifth member to enter the squad, which includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Paul George.

After signing the extension, Embiid also made a promise to Philly. “You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started!”