Joel Embiid Sends Clear Message to Sixers This Offseason
Since getting drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014, Joel Embiid has been the face of the franchise. Although it took him a few years to get healthy and on the floor consistently, it was clear that the team would build around the big man once he was ready.
When Embiid finally played in over 40 games during the 2017-2018 NBA season, the Sixers started making the playoffs. Since then, they’ve been regulars in the Eastern Conference postseason with six-straight playoff appearances.
Unfortunately, Embiid and the Sixers have failed to make it beyond the second round. Of the six-straight playoff appearances, the Sixers only failed to make it out of the first round once when they were swept by the Boston Celtics in 2020.
The Sixers have been extremely close to breaking the Eastern Conference Finals drought on three occasions. In 2019, the team went down the wire with the Toronto Raptors and lost Game 7 on the infamous Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater shot.
While the first-seeded Sixers were the favorites to defeat the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in 2021, Trae Young and the Hawks shocked the basketball world when they waltzed into Philly for a Game 7 and eliminated the Sixers in round two.
This past postseason, the James Harden-Joel Embiid duo was hopeful of finally getting to the Conference Finals, but the final two games of the series didn’t go their way. With an opportunity to put away the Celtics in South Philly during Game 6, Boston’s big second-half performance forced a Game 7. And when the Sixers visited the Celtics for the final game of the series, the Celtics put on a dominant performance, which allowed the trend to continue.
Embiid has made it clear that he had two ultimate goals in the NBA. He wants to be the league’s MVP and crowned an NBA Champion. In 2023, Embiid achieved the first goal for the first time as he was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Now, he’s sending a clear message to the Sixers as he enters year eight in the pros.
This interview is from the launch of Miniature Géant Studio at the UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
“I just want to win a championship… Whatever it takes,” said the Sixers center. “I don’t know where that’s going to be, whether in Philly or anywhere else, I just want to have a chance to accomplish that. I want to see what it feels like to win that first one, and then you think about the next one. It’s not easy. It takes more than one, two, three guys. You got to have good people around you. Myself, every single day, I work hard to be at that level so I can produce and make it happen. Every single day I’m working towards that goal.”
Hearing Embiid say he just wants to win a title is nothing new. It’s the “whether that’s in Philly or anywhere else” comment that’s fresh and should sound the alarm for the 76ers’ organization.
If there’s one thing we learned about the NBA in this era, it’s that loyalty between players and organizations can only last so long when championships aren’t being won. The current situation out in Portland is the best example.
Damian Lillard has been the face of the Blazers’ franchise since 2012. Although he’s never made an NBA Finals appearance in his career, Lillard has made it clear year after year that he’s loyal to Portland. But this summer, he finally reached a breaking point. Now, Lillard wants a change of scenery.
Embiid’s latest message is nowhere near a trade demand. However, it does seem to issue a warning to the 76ers. The Sixers made a big change in the offseason with the coaching staff by swapping out Doc Rivers for Nick Nurse. Now, it’s up to Daryl Morey and the front office to get the right players around Embiid to give themselves the best chance to break the Finals drought in 2024, avoiding a potential Embiid trade demand.
