Why doesn't Joel Embiid get the same treatment as players like Derrick Rose?

Joel Embiid, when healthy, has been a top 3 player in the NBA over the past 4-or-so seasons. Most would say his prime has lasted from the 2020/21season to the 2024/25 season. During this time he has averaged 32/11/4 with high level defense.

His playoff appearances have brought lots of criticism, but is it deserved? His stats historically have dropped off during the playoffs, and from 2021-2024 he has averaged 27/10/3. However, each of these years he has dealt with - and played through - injuries. In 2021 it was a torn meniscus, 2022 an orbital fracture, a concussion and a torn thumb ligament, in 2023 a knee sprain, and finally in 2024 he was recovering from a torn meniscus while also playing through Bell's Palsy, which literally paralysed half of his face. And he dropped 50 POINTS during these playoffs. Amazingly, he has only missed 5 out of 41 playoff games during this period. People like to call Embiid soft for missing time due to injuries, but when it matters, he battles through. This would also explain the drop in stats, and in my opinion it can excuse it. 27/10/3 are still ridiculous numbers, he's hardly playing bad, especially for someone playing through injury.

Derrick Rose is every NBA fan who grew up during the late 2000s' darling. He is everybody's favourite 'what-if'. He, like Embiid, has had a career riddled with injuries which inhibited his playing time for most of what would have been his prime. During his MVP campaign, he averaged 25/4/7 at 22 years old, leading the Chicago Bulls to the Number 1 seed over LeBron James and the newly formed Miami Heatles. In the 2012 season, Rose sadly tore his ACL, breaking fans' hearts everywhere and causing him to miss more than a full season of games. When he returned in late 2013, he once again got injured. Right knee surgery would end his season prematurely, and after that, he could never recapture the heights of his MVP self again. In 2014/15, he averaged 18/3/5 on 41% from the field across 51 games. He would not be named an all-star again, despite a great 2017 season in New York.

Some may point out that Rose has had a larger amount of playoff success than Embiid. Rose, in his 2011 playoff run, led the 1st seed Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they ultimately lost to Miami. Rose averaged a whopping 27/4/8, increasing his regular season totals. However, during these playoffs he shot sub-40% from the field, and struggled mightily efficiency-wise against the Heat in the ECF.

Other player, who I won't go into as much detail in, like Brandon Roy, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway and Bill Walton have been given similar sympathy to Rose for injuries robbing them of their prime. In contrast I see some more current players getting the Embiid treatment, for example LaMelo Ball, Zion Williamson (although his criticisms are more understandable), to a lesser extent Anthony Davis, and even Giannis Antetokounmpo recently. Instead of 'I wish injuries hadn't affected him', it's now become 'He shouldn't be getting injured'. Is it just a change in the way we view injuries in present times? Or is there another reason?

I'm somebody who used to be a Joel Embiid hater, and even now I wouldn't call myself a big fan. Despite this, I would absolutely love to see one fully healthy 76ers playoff run. While I may not think Rose would've become the best player in the world in his prime, I still do wish we could've seen him play a lot more. I'm really curious to hear others' thoughts on this, is it just a nostalgia thing or do people have a different reason for this.