Did Joel Embiid Troll Ben Simmons on Twitter?

Nowadays, famous athletes can interact with their fans through social media 24/7. While applications such as Twitter and Instagram can be great for the connection between fans and players -- it can also cause a lot of confusion at times.

Social media has become a tool for many people on the internet to vent about various topics. And when famous athletes do that, fans might take messages the wrong way. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid dealt with that on Wednesday night.

Prior to Wednesday, Embiid's latest tweet was in regards to the Sixers' Monday night win over the Memphis Grizzlies. As Embiid sat out for the night due to planned rest, the big man tuned in to the game from inside the arena.

When the matchup wrapped up in overtime with a Sixers victory, Embiid took to Twitter to express his excitement.

A couple of nights later, Embiid made his return to Twitter during an off night for the Sixers. His next tweet? A picture of the toilet paper Charmin Ultra Soft without context.

Talk About Bad Timing.

pic.twitter.com/D55LIgOFDK
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 4, 2022

As the Ben Simmons saga in Philadelphia continues, the disgruntled Sixers guard continues to have shots thrown his way from fans and even some former players.

Since Simmons has been referred to as many things, which could be related to "soft" throughout the last seven months, many believed that Embiid sent out a cryptic tweet aimed at Simmons as another update on the saga from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne was published this week.

Roughly a minute later, it turned out that Embiid was, in fact, not trolling his disgruntled teammate as many seemed to believe. Instead, the avid soccer fan was just showing frustration while watching the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The self-proclaimed troll has sent out his fair share of cryptic tweets and even directly trolled people on social media many times in the past, but this was not one of those cases. Not only has Embiid stayed silent regarding Simmons over the last few months, but he's even publicly supported his teammate on several occasions.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.