Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the top players in the league as he is a guy who is at the front of the MVP race in the Eastern Conference. He is averaging a robust 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists and he has the Sixers sitting at the No. 4 seed in the East.
With that in mind, the main focus now is making sure that he is ready to go for the playoffs to lead the Sixers on a deep run into the postseason. He and James Harden will be looking to team up and guide the Sixers on that run, but they will still have to grow chemistry.
Embiid joined former teammate JJ Redick on his podcast “The Old Man and the Three” and they discussed a variety of topics such as Embiid’s chemistry with Harden, his beef with Kevin Durant, a fight Redick got into while with the Sixers, and more Ben Simmons talk:
Embiid on Durant beef
In their previous matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, Embiid and Durant got into it a bit and the big fella explained that:
“We talk about flopping, I felt like this was a flop. If you’re man enough, if you get hit, don’t flop, stay up. So I really don’t want to talk about what we say, but it was something like ‘I’m still here’ and then I’m like, ‘Well, if you’re still here what then why would you flop?’ It doesn’t make sense, but I love KD. I mention it so many times. I think I can do everything on a basketball court and if there’s someone else, especially when you consider size and stuff, and if there’s someone else that can do the same stuff, and better, that’s probably one guy that I would think about. He’s just so freaking talented and so good, whether it’s scoring the ball or whatever he’s able to do on a basketball court. So I have a lot of respect for, but I love playing with him. He’s always talking trash for no reason sometimes like he’ll make a bucket and he’s talking trash. I love his intensity, and you know me, I kind of play the same way. I love talking trash and I love everybody. I love letting them know that I’m here, like, you know dominating you and that’s just the way it is.”
Embiid and Redick discuss a fight on the plane
Joel: “So we were playing and out of nowhere, it was him and Justin. Out of nowhere, JA just stands up and starts screaming and then they’re going back and forth and I’m like ‘Yo what is going on?’”
JJ: “Closest I’ve ever came to a teammate punching me…It’s weird. We were all at the table and thank God, you didn’t sit at the table. You were the fifth guy so you were in the aisle, and JA and I were across from each other and I felt that he was sabotaging the game. Just remember him and (Jerryd) Bayless would always get into it?”
Joel: “Yeah, but that’s because, you know how Bayless played.”
JJ: “Anyway, JA stood up on the table and you stopped him from doing any violent acts. The flight attendants got involved like they partially broke it up too. What was wild to me about that story was I had probably two or three friends across the league over the next month text me be like, ‘Yo, you boys are wildin in (expletive) Philly’, because the flight attendants were telling the story to all the other teams.”
Embiid on chemistry with Harden
“It was natural. Obviously, we talked a lot because we’re new teammates, just like he did with our other teammates and stuff but it was natural. I knew like he came in, I don’t think we talked much about basketball, I just knew that he was gonna make me better and I was gonna make him better and I already knew that my game had to sacrifice a little bit. I was obviously post up heavy and since we got him, I barely post up these days. I’m either setting screens or rolling to the basket, trying to make plays for my teammates and post up here and there, but I just felt like that was an opportunity for us to get better and we’re only gonna play what, 20 games together? Like that’s not a lot and to be able to win a championship, to build a team and only play 20 games together, it’s hard. It’s gonna take a while and it’s not just about me and him. It’s also about finding the chemistry with everybody else and putting it all together. It’s hard. That’s why some games we look great. Some games, we don’t look as good, but I think it was natural.”
Embiid on Simmons and the fans
“I think it was more so, you (meaning Redick) were here, I think it was more so, they didn’t feel like they were heard. You know how much they wanted him to shoot the ball, how much much they wanted him to be better in their own ways. He’s a great basketball player. He does so much stuff on the basketball court that people should pay attention, but they also felt from year one to whatever year that was for him, they didn’t see any improvement. That’s the way I kind of understand because even when you look back at all the years, what was the biggest thing I want him to do? Shooting in general. So I think they just felt like he had been here so long and there was no changes. I think that’s what kind of started the whole thing about everybody being mad and all that stuff, but I feel like I think he embraced. I don’t know if that felt like it was genuine or whatever, but I felt like he embraced them.”
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