76ers' Joel Embiid facing more pressure to win than any NBA star

Joel Embiid's decision to represent the United States over France or his home country of Cameroon paid off. But now that Embiid has his gold medal, it's time for the former NBA MVP to turn his attention back to his NBA career.

Even though an Olympic gold medal helps cement him as a future member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Embiid's basketball legacy will be judged based on what he accomplishes in the NBA.

Embiid, 30, will be entering his 11th NBA season this fall, granted that includes sitting out his first two years with a foot injury. To this point, Embiid is a seven-time All-Star, has been named MVP and holds elite per game averages of 27.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He's firmly established himself as one of the most dominant individual players in basketball.

But there's one blemish on his resume that just can't be overlooked. Embiid has never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs. Not only has he failed to reach an NBA Finals, but he's been unable to get the 76ers to the franchise's first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2001.

While some can point to nagging injuries or drama with teammates like Ben Simmons or James Harden derailing Embiid, there's still one fact that remains true — the 76ers have not enjoyed the team success they envisioned when they drafted Embiid with the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.

Of course, the 76ers believe they still have time to experience a deep postseason run with Embiid. However, Philadelphia also clearly knows there's a sense of urgency to strike as soon as possible. It's tough to imagine Embiid's body being more durable as he gets older. To that end, the 76ers managed to sign nine-time All-Star Paul George as the latest co-star to pair with Embiid.

Factor in the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers have a "Big 3" that should compete for a championship. However, if this latest effort fails, it's Embiid who will be held responsible. Eventually, the excuses will fall on deaf ears and his eye-popping statistics won't matter as much.

The focus on Embiid will also likely go to another level this season based on the landscape of the league around him. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics have their championship. LeBron James and Steph Curry are playing with house money in terms of legacy. Kevin Durant has two Finals MVPs no matter what happens the rest of his career.

Even from an all-time perspective as far as big men, Bill Russell has 11 rings, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has six, Shaquille O'Neil has four and Hakeem Olajuwon has a couple of his own. It's Embiid who is now facing pressure to win.

Team success is not a requirement for induction in the Basketball Hall of Fame and context is always needed when comparing player's careers, but winning is an important aspect of how NBA players are judged, especially for big men.

So for Embiid to ever be ranked among the greatest in NBA history, he has to deliver the 76ers their best season in over two decades sooner rather than later.