It's official: Joel Embiid declares for NBA draft

 There has been a lot of wavering back and forth regarding whether Kansas freshman Joel Embiid would enter the NBA draft, but he made his decision official on Wednesday afternoon.

From ESPN:

Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid announced Wednesday he will enter the NBA draft.

The 7-foot Cameroon native averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks and was considered the frontrunner to be taken No. 1 in the June draft until a back injury forced him to sit out the Big 12 and NCAA tournament.

"I just want to thank God first for giving me this opportunity to come to the (United States) and play ball," Embiid said in a statement released by the school. "I want to thank the coaching staff, my teammates, the fans -- everyone that's helped me through my journey. After thinking a lot, I've decided to declare for the NBA draft."

ESPN believes that Embiid will be among the top 3 picks (along with Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, should he declare) despite his injury woes.We learned yesterday that Wiggins sits atop the Boston Celtics' draft board according to Chad Ford, with Parker as number two and Embiid as number 3.

The Celtics are currently one game behind of the Orlando Magic for landing in the bottom 3. Let's hope that the NBA draft lottery on May 20th is kind to the Celtics.

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