2018-19 NBA Season: 5 injury-prone youngsters with the most to prove

#2 Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game Five

The Sixers' resident on-and-off-court superstar has had a tumultuous time in the league ever since he made his debut for Philly at the start of the 2016-17 season. His first full season of note, 2017-18, saw him voted into a starting berth in the All Star Game by fans - a fully justified selection, moreover.

The 23-year-old Cameroonian is already a two-way superstar as he proved last season as a big factor in Philly's 52-30 record and his 3rd place finish in the DPOY sweepstakes. But he now enters the first year of a 5-season deal that could be worth as much as $178 million over 5 years.

Now that the Sixers have proved themselves as a credible Finals threat from the Eastern Conference, it is up to their superstar youngsters - and particularly to Embiid - to live up to this billing. Embiid could have been even better during this year's playoffs if he'd had time to recover from an orbital fracture he suffered late in the season.

He needs to improve his conditioning and his ability to play his way out of double-teams. This is the first fully uninterrupted offseason that he's had to work on his game after turning pro, so the onus is on 'The Process' to show us that the moniker he bears is more than just hype.