Joel Embiid Says He’s ‘Probably The Most Hated Guy’ In NBA

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said during an appearance on “The Check Ball Show” that he’s “probably the most hated guy” in the NBA. 

“I’m probably the most hated guy in the league. I don’t know why cuz, I’m just cool. I don’t know what’s there to hate about me. I feel like a lot of people can relate to my story and what I’ve been through.”

Agree with Joel Embiid?

(via @TheCheckBall)pic.twitter.com/LBr2mptMS9

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 24, 2024

Embiid flops a lot. He also speaks his mind. Those two things make him unlikeable to a lot of NBA fans. 

The Sixers have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs in the Embiid era. Embiid is the only player on Team USA not to play in the conference finals. 

Philadelphia is expected to compete for the 2025 championship after signing Paul George. The Sixers have a “Big 3” of George, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. 

During an interview with NBA reporter Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Embiid spoke about the Sixers’ new “Big 3.”

“Yeah, I think as far as the fit, it looks amazing,” Embiid told ESPN. “It is great, especially when you got a big … I don’t like to call myself a big, but when you got a player that posts up and that isos quite a bit, you need to have willing shooters and guys that are not afraid to pull the trigger. PG, great shooter, 40%, 45 catch and shoot; Tyrese, we know great shooter, off the dribble, catch-and-shoot.

“On paper, and as far as the fit, it looks fantastic because you got both guys that can play off the ball, and they can play on ball and they’re great shooters and they can handle the ball, and then you also got me. So, yeah, it looks great.”

Embiid averaged 34.7 points last season, George averaged 22.6 points and Maxey averaged 25.9 points. 

“It feels like you’re starting from scratch,” Embiid, one of the best players in the NBA, told ESPN. “And I know there’s going to be a lot of growing pains. But you just got to stick it together. The goal is always to win a championship, but it just doesn’t happen overnight. And hopefully, it doesn’t take us as much time as it should when you’re trying to bring up everybody on the same page and making sure everybody knows their role and what they got to do to make sure that we achieve that goal. But we’re going to do the best job possible.”