Harper vs Embiid: Who Reigns Supreme in Philadelphia Sports?

Harper vs Embiid

Here in Philadelphia we love sports, the only thing we love as much as the games themselves are our star athletes. Over my life I’ve seen guys like Allen Iverson, Chase Utley, Brian Dawkins and Jason Kelce entrench themselves in the annals of Philly Sports history just by the way they carried themselves and personified the ethos of our town.

I’ve also seen guys like Donovan McNabb, Eric Lindros, and Curt Schilling, who were all supremely talented and successful in their own right, not ingratiate themselves to the Philly faithful due to their attitudes, lack of clutch, or apparent lack of really giving a damn.

Two of the biggest athletes in their respective games reside in the city of brotherly love, both of them are quite polarizing in their own right. The athletes in question are Bryce Harper and Joel Embiid.

So I sat here wondering, “who represents our city more, and who will go down with the better legacy?” It’s an interesting question because both of them have a case to be remembered fondly, and both of them have given plenty of valid reasons for their detractors to not remember them so well. Since we’re in the sports dead zone… I figured I might as well write an article about it.

The case for Joel Embiid:

Joel is a homegrown talent that has a real life Rocky story. He didn’t even play organized basketball until middle school, and he's overcome injuries and personal tragedy to become a marquee player and NBA MVP. He has multiple All-Defense selections, multiple All-NBA selections, has won back to back scoring titles and has been the backbone and face of the franchise for nearly a decade. That alone should ensure his place in the Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done.

He was the first major piece of the polarizing “Process” and like the means or not, his selection helped pull us out of perennial mediocrity. He’s made the Sixers yearly contenders every season he’s played, and has been among the best players in the game since hitting his stride back in 2017.

On the flip side ... Joel hasn’t exactly elevated his game in the playoffs, it’s not a secret that his averages go down across the board when the games matter the most. His 27.2/11.2/3.5 dips to 24/10.9/2.7. It might not sound like much, but declining by 3.5 points and an assist per game takes, at minimum, 5 extra points off the board in every game. With as many close playoff losses as the Sixers have had, it goes without saying that the dip in production would have contributed to at least one series loss. It's also no secret he has missed a few games or not been at 100% at crucial times due to injuries. Top that off with him having a penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong times, and it’s easy to see why “The Process” isn’t as universally loved as Bubba Chuck.

Bryce Harper

The once hated division rival, Bryce has done everything in his power to change our perception of him. From the minute he signed in Philly, he’s embraced the city’s fan base and emulated our intensity on the field. In his MVP season he put together one of the greatest individual performances at the plate in the history of the game, slashing .309/.429/1.004 with 42 doubles, 100 walks and 35 homers. In his first ever “Red October” he elevated his game even more. He was the best player in the post-season regardless of team, and hit arguably the biggest home run in my lifetime to win the NL Pennant in resounding fashion. He’s been nothing but the consummate professional and leader since he signed with the Phillies and has continued to show his grit, batting nearly .300 only 7 months removed from Tommy John surgery.

But Bryce isn’t the homegrown talent we love. He came here because the dollar signs were in his eyes, and I would be remiss to think sticking it to his old team wasn’t part of his motivation. For all of his heroics in the fall of 2022, he only made the playoffs once in four seasons here.

He is also in real danger of missing the postseason for the 4th time in five years if the Phillies don’t stay the course and play near perfect baseball over the last two months of the season. Like Embiid, he also has some injury history of his own, playing only 120 or more games twice in his nearly 5 seasons here.

No matter what side you land on, it’s hard to argue against both of these guys being extremely talented and making watching the Phillies and Sixers fun, something we didn’t feel often from 2013-2018. How they will be viewed 10–15 years from now is anyone’s guess because their legacies are still being written, but it’s safe to say they could both end up in either camp McNabb or camp Dawkins.

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