Well, Joel Embiid is no longer a sneaker free agent. The NBA star has joined the Under Armour brand for the foreseeable future. With news of the deal, Embiid wants basketball fans to know that the deal is bigger than basketball.

The Philadelphia 76ers centre said in an Instagram post celebrating the deal that the shoe deal is not only about selling sneakers and took readers back to Cameroon in 2011, a day where he was invited to the basketball camp hosted by Luc Mbah a Moute despite not playing an ounce of basketball. From there he details how he didn’t believe in himself, but eventually making the NBA and having the support of multiple entities.

“Basketball has given me everything, but it has to be bigger than basketball. That was the first thing that I said to Under Armour, and they were behind it 100 percent,” Embiid wrote. “This isn’t about a shoe deal. I mean, listen … I’m gonna make sure they design some shoes as pretty as I am. Don’t worry about that. We’re gonna take care of that.”

The NBA star is using his partnership to impact his new home of Philadelphia and eventually reaching beyond into the world and Embiid celebrated with the children of Philly by handing out Under Armour merchandise and hosting a day of basketball in the community.

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