The Philadelphia 76ers have again asked Zydrunas Ilgauskas to meet with Joel Embiid.

Ilgauskas was able to overcome the foot injury that has forced Embiid to miss the first two seasons of his NBA career.

"His story is real," Brett Brown said. "And it really resonates with Joel on the pitfalls of it all and the mental side of it all and the discipline to take of your body to get back onto the court."

Ilgauskas missed 202 games and had three fractured navicular bone surgeries from 1998-2001. His final surgery included a bone graph and the reshaping of the first metatarsal and heel bone to relieve stress in his foot.

Brown said Embiid is progressing "great" and is "doing fantastic in his mind."

"He is so determined to do everything that he has to," Brown said, "everything that people are telling him that he has to do to get it right.

"There was a real progression in his maturity and seriousness to understanding truly what needs to be done for him to give him every chance to get back on the court."