Following the Philadelphia 76ers’ offseason acquisitions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, the general consensus was the Sixers had vaulted themselves into contender status in the Eastern Conference and in the NBA in general. But for ESPN media personality Stephen A. Smith, the one player on the roster that is key to the 76ers winning a championship is not a new addition, but instead it’s Joel Embiid, the longest-tenured player on the roster.

During a recent segment of ‘First Take,’ Smith argued his belief that if Joel Embiid is not at a certain level by the time the playoffs roll around, then the 76ers are not winning an NBA championship.

“If Joel Embiid is at 70-75 percent come playoff time, the Philadelphia 76ers are winning the championship,” Smith said. “I don’t believe they win the championship without Embiid. But if Embiid is on that damn court, in the NBA Finals, capable of giving you something at at 70-75 percent in terms of his level of health, I don’t seen anybody beating the Philadelphia 76ers.”

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So far, things have been running smoothly with the team. The Sixers gotten off to an 8-1 start to the season with Embiid playing in seven of those games at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 19.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists with splits of 41.3 percent shooting from the field, 11.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 88 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Embiid has battled various injury issues throughout his career. Last season, both a knee and a hip injury limited him to only 38 regular season games. However, he was able to return for the playoffs and help lead the Sixers to an upset win in the opening round against the Boston Celtics.