Joel Embiid’s impact on the city of Philadelphia continues to transcend the basketball court.
Embiid, who enters the new season a five-time NBA All-Star and defending scoring champion, repeatedly aims to elevate his community.
On Thursday, Embiid launched “In Memory of Arthur” (IMOA), a community initiative designed to bring positive change to Philadelphia by investing in some of its most influential nonprofits. Embiid and his team contributed to the FTI initiative with a $1 million grant shared between the following organizations:
“Philadelphia has been a place where a lot of my dreams have come true, and I wanted to do my part to bring that to others,” Embiid said.
The name of the initiative pays tribute to Embiid’s late brother, Arthur, who died in a car accident in 2014 at the age of 13. Joel “hopes this initiative can create a positive legacy around Arthur’s name, a legacy he believes Arthur would have built on his own if he hadn’t been lost at such a young age.
When Embiid became a father in 2020, he named his son Arthur.
Embiid also adopted local families over the holidays during the 76ers’ “giving season” in December 2020, providing families with gifts, groceries, clothing, and rent or mortgage relief for a year.
Earlier in 2020, when the NBA season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Embiid teamed up with Sixers managing partner Josh Harris and co-managing partner David Blitzer to donate $1.3 million to Penn Medicine to develop antibody tests for frontline workers.
Embiid is a difference maker.
“As an NBA player I have been blessed with resources and influence, and with the FTI I hope to give back everything I have to my community, giving to the experts who are the real MVPs to make a difference.”
Part of Embiid’s mission is to host young members of the respective organizations at 76ers games as well as play an active role within each group by visiting and volunteering year-round.
On and off the ground, Embiid continues to make a legendary impact.