That was the biggest takeaway from Dotun Akintoye’s phenomenal Joel Embiid feature that ran on ESPN on Wednesday morning. The enigmatic Philadelphia 76ers superstar provided rare access and vulnerability talking about the ups and downs of his NBA career in the type of longform piece that rarely exists in today’s media landscape.

Joel Embiid has developed a reputation as a troll. But this aspect of the big man has persisted since his college days, as his coach recalled a hilarious story from his time at Kansas.

Philadelphia is the hardest team to project in next season’s Eastern Conference. If healthy, they are legit title contenders — but “if” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence. Paul George has had offseason knee surgery.

Details of what was said in that meeting were leaked the next day, as we learned Tyrese Maxey challenged Joel Embiid over being constantly late and not setting the standard as the team's star. Embiid was upset that became public knowledge, saying whoever leaked the info was a "real piece of shit" and vowed to figure out who did it.

Even his most painful grief has been thrown in his face. At the start of Embiid's rookie season in 2014, his 13-year-old brother Arthur was hit by a truck and killed. The day Arthur died, Embiid ignored a series of phone calls. When he finally answered, it was terrible news.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid does not regret shoving a columnist back in November, which resulted in a three-game suspension without pay.

The Philadelphia 76ers had a team meeting last season in November in Miami. During the meeting, Tyrese Maxey called Joel Embiid out for being late to team events.

Joel Embiid has candidly addressed his non-existent relationship with James Harden after the Beard's Philadelphia 76ers exit.

Joel Embiid hopes his legacy in the NBA won't be defined by the injuries that have limited him to 452 games in 11 years since he was drafted with the No. 3 overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers center is working to return to form as he recovers from his second knee surgery in 14 months. He spoke with ESPN about coming back too soon from injury, his friend Jameer Nelson suggesting therapy, his history with James Harden, and more.

Fans of the 76ers were quick to hit back at John Kincade after he suggested a recent article about Joel Embiid was a PR move.