After the Grizzlies' game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Embiid hadn't become the hot topic. Instead, Jokic—the so-called "punching bag"—had gone viral.
This chubby, honest-looking guy, who seemed utterly nonthreatening, had calmly and methodically beaten Embiid into submission on the court. Clips of it spread wildly across the internet.
People were stunned that this backup center from the Grizzlies could actually go toe-to-toe with a top-tier prospect like Embiid.
They were rookies from the same class. One had been the third overall pick, while the other had merely been a second-rounder.
Yet when they faced each other on the court, there had been almost no difference between them.
With just a second-round pick, the Grizzlies had gotten the equivalent of the Philadelphia 76ers' third overall selection.
Just thinking about it made it easy to imagine how heartbroken Philadelphia 76ers fans were at that moment.
Once again, everyone marveled at the Grizzlies' eye for talent. They always seemed able to select the best players with the lowest picks.
Over the past few years, the number of low-picked rookies and even undrafted players who had flourished with the Grizzlies was simply unbelievable.
Jimmy Butler, selected near the end of the first round, had now become the Bulls' core player.
Whiteside, who had drifted around for years, was now treasured by the people of Miami.
Further back, Gasol had also been nothing more than a second-round pick. As for Link, he had been signed directly out of the G League.
And now, Jokic had been added to that list.
It was hard for people to imagine that the Grizzlies had built their current legend solely through these signings and draft picks.
If people could still argue that the Olympic Games were different from the NBA when Jokic had dominated the Dream Team's interior last