Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers were feeling themselves on Wednesday night, taking down the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 at home. Though the Nets were red hot for much of the game (64% from the field), Philly weathered the storm through ten steals and 35 made free throws.
And if any singular player was feeling himself, it was Joel Embiid. The Sixers’ big man posted a 26 and 10, pedestrian figures by his standards. But time and again he proved to be the life force behind Philadelphia’s win.
For instance, after one smooth drive and make, Embiid came back down to the floor in a frenzy, dropping a sweet celebration that got the entire crowd riled up.
Joel Embiid is an absolute treasure
After, Nets star Kevin Durant called out the celebration, calling it “trash” on social media.
“Trash celebration @JoelEmbiid,” Durant tweeted.
Trash celebration @JoelEmbiid
And, in typical Embiid fashion, he responded to Durant’s criticism with his own curated response. A troll, if you will.
It’s not the first time Embiid has responded to external criticism lately.
Embiid Responds to Hakeem Olajuwon Comments
Over his career, Embiid has been regularly compared to one of the NBA’s greatest centers: Hakeem Olajuwon. And last week, the Hall of Famer criticized Embiid over his “settling” by shooting threes.
“He’s got all the moves, but leveraging the moves is different. Why would he be shooting threes?” Olajuwon asked Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated. “He has the advantage every night, and if I have the advantage, I’m going to wear you out.”
“But threes? ‘That’s settling! When I’m tired, I settle. You don’t settle when you’re trying to win. You don’t start the game settling!”
And after the Sixers’ win over the Portland Trailblazers, Embiid appeared to take the chance to clap back at Olajuwon and the old heads who continually gripe about the modern game.
“It’s funny when you’ve got these old guys always talking about posting up, ‘you need to spend time in the paint,’ and all that stuff,” Embiid said, per Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. “You can’t win this way anymore. It’s not the fricking 90s or 80s like it used to be. So, they must not have any basketball IQ.”
Joel Embiid: “It’s funny when you’ve got these old guys always talking about posting up, ‘you need to spend time in the paint,’ and all that stuff. You can’t win this way anymore. It’s not the fricking 90s or 80s like it used to be. So, they must not have any basketball IQ.”
Prior to the Sixers’ game against the Nets, Durant voiced his own take on any existing bad blood between Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
Durant Plays Down Sixers-Nets Rivalry
Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Nets and Sixers had written several pages of history recently, most notably in the Ben Simmons-James Harden swap from a year ago.
But despite that backdrop, Nets superstar Kevin Durant declined to say that a “rivalry” existed between Philly and Brooklyn.
“Rivalries in the NBA are not really a thing, in my opinion,” he told reporters, per The Boston Herald. “It’s going to be a battle amongst each fan base on social media, but as far as the players, it’s another game on the schedule, and each team is trying to get better and improve.”
Perhaps Durant was trying to ease the likely pressure Ben Simmons faced heading back to Philadelphia. Or maybe that’s just the internal gamer in Durant — every opponent is a rivalry because all stand in his way for a title.
The Nets currently sit fourth in the East, two games back of the Sixers.