By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia 76ers rookie center Joel Embiid has been named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. After missing two seasons due to foot surgeries, Embiid has returned to the court and made a giant impact on the Sixers and has been recognized by many across the league.
Congratulations to @JoelEmbiid on being named the @KIA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month! pic.twitter.com/FZRN6C7Gwj
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) December 1, 2016
Embiid is the fourth Sixers player to earn Rookie of the Month honors, joining Jerry Stackhouse, Allen Iverson and Michael Carter-Williams.
The 7-foot-2 native of Cameroon was selected third overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Sixers. 853 days later, Embiid finally made his regular season debut and through 12 games, he is pretty much running circles around this year's rookie class. He leads rookies in scoring (18.2), rebounds (7.8) and blocks (2.4) per game despite playing under 23 minutes on average. Embiid also leads the class in double doubles with four, three-point percentage (50.0) and ranks third in field-goal percentage at 48 percent.
Prior to Wednesday night's postponed Sixers game, head coach Brett Brown announced that Embiid's minutes would be increased from 24 to 28. He'll take the court next when Philadelphia hosts Orlando on Friday night.
Jamal Murray was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month. The Denver Nuggets guard is averaging 10.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting 39.3 percent from the floor.
