NBA.com's John Schuhmann gets you ready for the 2017-18 season with a key stat for each team in the league and shows you why it matters. Today, we look at the Philadelphia 76ers, who were a pretty good team when one particular guy was on the floor.

THE STAT

When Joel Embiid was on the floor last season, the Philadelphia 76ers outscored their opponents by 3.2 points per 100 possessions.



THE CONTEXT

Only one team in the Eastern Conference (Toronto) had a NetRtg (point differential per 100 possessions) better than plus-3.2 last season.

The Sixers were outscored by 467 points over their 82 games, but were a plus-67 with Embiid on the floor. With Embiid anchoring the defense, they allowed just 99.1 points per 100 possessions, a mark better than that of the Spurs' No. 1-ranked defense (100.9).

The Sixers were 9.0 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Embiid on the floor than they were with him off the floor. It's not often that rookies make a positive impact defensively, but Embiid clearly did. Opponents shot 40.8 percent at the rim when he was there to protect, the best rim-protection mark among players who defended at least five shots in 25 or more games. He also led the league with 4.72 steals plus blocks per 36 minutes.

But he played only 786 minutes total. He never played both nights of a back-to-back and his season was over in late January.

Having Embiid in uniform didn't exactly guarantee a win. The Sixers went 13-18 in games that he played, because he never played more than 29 minutes and because they were so awful when he sat down. His primary back-up was Jahlil Okafor, who had the league's worst on-court NetRtg (minus-14.5 points per 100 possessions), by a pretty wide margin, among 222 players that played at least 20 minutes per game in 40 games or more. Still, Philly was 12-5 in games in which Embiid had a positive plus-minus.

The Sixers will have better players around (and playing behind) Embiid this season, but his health is still the team's biggest variable as they try to take another step forward this season. Even with the last two No. 1 picks making their debuts and some veterans added to the roster, Embiid is the transcendent star that gives the Sixers a legit chance to make the playoffs if he's healthy and making the same impact that he made as a rookie.