March 31, 2022
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Joel Embiid stands on the court before the start of the Sixers' game against the Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center on March 20.
Former Sixers sharpshooter JJ Redick has been around the team's practice facility in Camden this week, teasing an interview with Joel Embiid for his podcast The Old Man & The Three.
The hour and 15-minute episode, released Thursday morning, offering a candid conversation with the five-time All-Star and league MVP candidate.
Embiid talked about the development of his game and his journey to basketball stardom, why it's a mistake to guard him 1-on-1, trash talking (with Kevin Durant in particular), Philly fans, the Ben Simmons saga, and ultimately the weight of what the MVP award would mean to him.
He said between starting basketball so late, his injuries in the first few years, the death of his brother, and representing Cameroon, winning MVP would mean much more than just the honor itself.
Said Embiid:
"It has to. Just thinking about...obviously, starting to play so late, I wasn't supposed to be here. I was supposed to be, really...I was supposed to try to be a professional volleyball player unitl [Luc Mbah a Moute] came back and had a camp. He picked me for his camp...missing my first three years, losing my brother during that time where I felt like I really wanted to quit basketball and just go back home. Everything that happened in between... And the way I grew up, being from Cameroon, Africa in general, we don't have all of this.
"Even if I played basketball growing up, we don't have indoor courts, everything is outdoor. We don't have baskets, the conditions are not great.
I feel like I would be doing this for the whole continent." [The Old Man & The Three]
Joel Embiid on his journey and the significance if he wins MVP pic.twitter.com/rCltOAAOTz
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) March 30, 2022
The 28-year old center also talked to Redick about his unique relationship with Philadelphia fans, how it has developed through the years, and his approach to accountability when it comes to getting booed.
"Playing here is tough, but that's what I love about them. I wouldn't want to play in a city where, first of all there's nobody at games or they come to the game and have no idea what's going on.
But in Philly....They're just so in tune with everything that's going on with the team, and that's what I love about them. They're so intense, and like you (Redick) said, I got booed a few times. But my response has always been I kind of took it as a positive, because I felt like if I was in that situation, that must mean I'm not playing well or I'm not playing hard.
So I always took it as 'Okay, I gotta change it. I gotta play better. I gotta play harder. I gotta make sure I do whatever is necessary for us to win games.' So that's the way I always looked at it. But like I said: I love Philly fans, man. You played for a bunch of teams since you left [the Sixers] and I'm sure there's no fans like Philly." [The Old Man & The Three]
Redick said there were none. "And I've always said, I will take the bad with the good here over apathy of other fan bases 10 times out of 10."
Perhaps inevitably, this led to more talk about Simmons. Neither Embiid nor Redick thought things turned sour because he didn't embrace the city. Both said they believe he did. But he never improved his shooting in the five years he was here, and there was tons of frustration in that.
Said Embiid:
"I think it was more so...[the fans] didn't feel like...they were hurt. You know how much they wanted him to shoot the ball, how much they wanted him to be better in their own ways.
He's a great basketball player, he does so much on the basketball court that people should pay attention to. But they also felt like Year 1 to whatever year that was for him, they didn't see any improvement. I think that's the way I kind of understand, because when you look back at all the years, what was the biggest thing they wanted him to do? Shoot three or free throws or whatever that was, shooting in general.
I think they just felt like he had so long and there were no changes. I think that's what kind of started the whole thing about everybody being mad and all that stuff.
I think he embraced them. I don't know if they felt like he was genuine, but I feel like he embraced them." [The Old Man & The Three]
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