Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is enjoying another MVP-caliber season even with his team struggling to an extent on the court.
James Harden and Tyrese Maxey have been sidelined to injury with the former just returning to the court. Head coach Doc Rivers firmly finds himself on the hot seat as the season plays out.
Despite this, Embiid has put up multiple record-setting performances as he attempts to keep his 15-12 team afloat. The backdrop here has been a contentious relationship between Embiid and fans in the City of Brotherly Love.
In speaking with Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports recently, Embiid opened up about the deal for James Harden ahead of last season’s NBA trade deadline and whether fans in Philadelphia already view it to be a failure. In the process, he’s provided an interesting tidbit about what the center believes 76ers fans are thinking right now.
“I don’t know, Sixers fans, they want to trade me,” Embiid told Fischer. When asked if he actually believes this, the star center said “I do believe that. They want to trade me.”
First off, fans in Philadelphia are notorious for their opinions regarding some of the top sports stars in the city. They are not afraid to boo when things aren’t going right. They are among the most boisterous and “trigger-happy.” But the idea that 76ers fans want to trade Embiid seems to be pretty ridiculous. At least, it’s likely a vocal minority. After all, the dude just continues to dominate.
- Joel Embiid stats (2022-23): 33.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 54% shooting
Embiid’s performance this season includes two 50-point outings, including one in which he recorded 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks in a record-setting outing. He’s averaging 37.3 points over the past 11 games, too.
Related: Joel Embiid and the top 2022-23 NBA MVP candidates
Joel Embiid is not the problem with the Philadelphia 76ers
This shouldn’t even have to be said. Harden has struggled big time in the 34 games he’s suited up with Philadelphia, shooting a mere 41% from the field. He just returned from injury after being sidelined for 14 games. Fellow guard Tyrese Maxey has been sidelined since Nov. 18 with a foot injury of his own.
As for head coach Doc Rivers, he continues to be under a microscope after failing to lead Philadelphia to even a conference finals appearance in each of his first two seasons with the team. For his part, Embiid wouldn’t 100% back Rivers when asked what he thought about the head coach being on the hot seat. In fact, he side-stepped the topic.
“Look, all I can do is try to do my best every game. I’m grateful to be in this position, because it’s not an easy job. If it was easy, everybody would do it,” Joel Embiid when asked about Doc Rivers’ job security.
He’s not wrong here. Embiid is among the most-dominating figures in the NBA today. It’s now up to his teammates and coach to help put him in the best position to succeed.
With that said, there’s obviously somewhat of a split between the All-Star big man and fans in Philadelphia. We’ve seen that spiral out of control recently. Just ask Ben Simmons.