Sixers Star Joel Embiid Pokes Fun at Former Playoff Rival

Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid

Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round.

Throughout his career, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been known to have some fun on social media. While he’s calmed down on enraging his opponents almost nightly, the MVP runner-up still pops on the internet from time to time to have some fun. Embiid recently took a slight jab at an old playoff rival on Twitter.

When Embiid’s main beefs are discussed, Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside are typically mentioned first. However, there is one player the All-Star center has quarreled with on multiple occasions over the years that isn’t talked about enough. That being Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins.

The disdain these two players have for one another came out in full force two years ago when the Hawks and Sixers met in the Eastern Conference semifinals. On top of pulling off an upset in the series, Collins added insult to injury by wearing a shirt of him Dunking on Embiid in a post-game press conference.

It appears Embiid still holds a grudge towards Collins and poked fun at him with a recent social media interaction. He was recently caught liking a Tweet about Collins and Hawks teammate Trae Young suffering a loss in the Drew League. It was also pointed out that the former first-round pick because the first NBA player to foul out of a game in the famous pro-am.


Sixers Fan Highlights Joel Embiid’s Dominant Season

After being one of the league’s most dominant forces in 2021, Joel Embiid still managed to elevate his game last season. Even with him doing something that had not been done in over twenty years, he once again finished second in MVP voting behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

With Ben Simmons out of the picture for the first half of the season, it was on Embiid to carry the Sixers as the team’s lone star. He stepped up significantly and highlighted how complete of a player he had become. The final result was Embiid finishing the year setting new career-highs in both points (30.6) and assists (4.2) per game. This scoring mark made the Sixers star the first center to win the NBA’s scoring title since Shaquille O’Neal back in 2000. 

Recently, one fan took the time to highlight how dominant of a year Embiid had by posting all of his 40-point performances in a thread on Twitter. In the 68 games he appeared in during the regular season, he achieved this mark on 13 different occasions. The most impressive performance came in January against the Orlando Magic when Embiid notched fifty points in 27 minutes of action. 


Joel Embiid Continuing to Refine His Game

After a successful offseason, Embiid and the Sixers have all the pieces in place to make a run at the title. With James Harden officially under contract, the star duo is gearing up for what they hope is a deep run in 2023.

Harden recently opened up on putting in extra time to get his body right, but he isn’t the only one working hard behind the scenes. Embiid was recently seen putting in time with his trainer, Drew Hanlen.

The current iteration of the Sixers is arguably the best group of talent Embiid has had around him in his career, and he is not going to let the opportunity in front of him go to waste.

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