Philadelphia 76ers: Watch Joel Embiid finally say it like it is

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is done.

D. O. N. E. Done.

He’s tried to play things cool, tried to be diplomatic, and tried to be the bigger man, but after a near-constant stream of quotes from people around Ben Simmons – never Simmons himself – surrounding his disdain for the team, for the city, and for its fans, but after one particularly brutal quote about how Embiid’s game is incompatible with that of the BS was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back.

When you come for the King, you best not miss, especially when your nickname is the “fresh prince.”

If you haven’t seen this yet, you need to check it out.

Embiid highlighted the hypocrisy of the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster construction.

In order to optimize Ben Simmons’, shall we say, unique offensive game, the Philadelphia 76ers have had to compose their roster in a very particular way.

They’ve had to find stretch fives who can shoot the ball when Joel Embiid is off the court, focused on procuring combo guards instead of traditional facilitators who can get the ball to open players with ease, and most importantly of all, added shooters upon shooters upon shooters to compensate for a non-shooter in the team’s starting five.

Has that helped Embiid’s development as well? Sure. Embiid’s game flourished when paired up with shooters like J.J. Redick and Seth Curry, and ultimately, he saw his greatest success when paired up with Jimmy Butler in a two-man game in 2018-19; even if such a pairing ultimately forced the franchise to pick between Simmons and Butler, for better or worse.

But hey, don’t just take my word for it; let’s hear what “The Process” himself has to say on the subject.

Wow, a lot to unpack there.

Overall, Joel Embiid is dead-on in his analysis. The Sixers have primarily built their roster around Simmons’ specific needs, and it’s been Embiid who has had to adjust his game accordingly.

When Brett Brown was begging Simmons to take just one 3 point shot per game in 2019-20, Embiid continued to take 3.4 shots from beyond the arc per game, even if he didn’t make them at a very efficient NBA clip. When the Sixers needed their star players to step up and score more points in the absence of Butler and Redick, Simmons actually took 1.3 fewer shots per game Per 36 than in the season prior.

Heck, even after Brown was fired and Doc Rivers took his place, Simmons remained maddeningly stubborn about playing the game his way and his way only, even if it forced the players around him to adjust.

Despite being the best post scorer in the NBA, Embiid has to spend a decent chunk of his time on the court with Simmons perched on the wings in order to maintain proper spacing. While he’s occasionally complained about this fact, per the man himself, he’s been happy to do it because he’s a basketball player who can play with anyone.

Tell me, when has Simmons taken one for the team outside of his playoff run in 2019? Did he ever happily play forward alongside a more capable primary ballhandler in order to give the team a better chance to win? Or did he demand to be called a point guard and push the team away from targeting players like Lonzo Ball, who’d be a perfect fit alongside him but may take away some of his thunder?

Unfortunately, we all know the answer to that question, and it’s okay to talk about it without the fear.

Has Joel Embiid been sacrificing his game for Ben Simmons and the general betterment of the Philadelphia 76ers? Could he, too, benefit from playing in a scheme tailor-made around his talents? Fortunately, we may soon find out, as the kid gloves are coming off, and any remote chance of Simmons returning to the City of Brotherly Love anytime soon appears to be thoroughly out the window.