Big day for Jojo, who is trying to bring the Juju for both the Sixers, in the lottery, and ESPN, at their upfronts.

What are upfronts? It’s when television networks and advertisers gather to horse trade advertising slots on upcoming program. Networks showoff and announce their new lineups and programming (which is why there was all that ESPN news yesterday) and give advertisers a chance to lock-in sponsorship… ready for this… upfront. All the major networks are involved.

This morning, ESPN is pitching their new agenda personality-driven programming, which was just announced to include a Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre hour (yuck), and presumably their super premium NBA and NFL broadcasts. Including Embiid alongside Serena Williams and the recently-retired Paul Pierce says a lot about the marketing potential of Embiid. Obviously, ESPN took notice of his star power and thinks he will serve as an excellent pitchman to big brands.

Sometimes in Philly we get wrapped up in our own stars and it takes us a while to realize that they have considerable star power on a national level. By inviting Embiid, who has only played 31 games in the NBA, along to pitch advertisers during what has turned out to be a crucial period for ESPN tells you all you need to know about Embiid’s superstar potential. I would imagine that somewhere Team Simmons is wondering how they can get in on that action.