It had been accepted as a foregone conclusion that Joel Embiid was going to walk away as a unanimous Rookie of the Year. He single handedly revitalized the 76ers franchise and restored faith in the process while having one of the biggest impacts we have ever seen from a rookie.

In any measurable category, no other rookie could even compare to Embiid. Even on a minutes restriction, his production has been unparalleled, and his advanced numbers make it even more lopsided. When you take into account the fact that he has also been phenomenal on the defensive end, and has a massive impact on how well his teammates play, Embiid would have been one of the easiest rookie of the year choices in a while.

Then, the 76ers were dealt yet another blow with their young phenom. The 76ers could not have taken a more conservative approach, limiting his minutes and holding him out of a solid portion of games. Unfortunately, that did him no good as an injury that occurred before the All Star break appeared to get worse, as swelling in his knee is going to keep him out for an undetermined amount of time.

Given the state of the 76ers, and the approach they have taken with Embiid in the past and Simmons this season, no one should expect to see Embiid on the floor again this season, and all of a sudden the rookie of the year race is blown wide open, as many believe that 31 games is not enough to receive the honors. That being said, Embiid will certainly be in consideration, and a lot will depend on how well his fellow rookies finish off the season.

While there may be other currently ahead of him, Jaylen Brown‘s recent play in the absence of Avery Bradley has made him a legitimate candidate to steal the award, but there are a lot of things that need to happen in order for him to get it.