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#pounditThursday, March 28, 2024

Joel Embiid holding grudge against bandwagon 76ers fans

Joel Embiid 76ers

Joel Embiid appreciates the love he and his Philadelphia 76ers have received from fans this season, but he wonders where that was the past few years.

Embiid said after the Sixers’ practice on Wednesday that he’s holding a bit of a grudge over fans just now jumping on the bandwagon when the team is good.

“My mindset has always been, three, four years ago, no one was around, no one was talking about us,” Embiid said Wednesday, via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jessica Camerato. “Anything new, that always comes, I’m like, ‘that’s nice.’ But like, where was everybody three or four years ago?

“I kind of hold grudges because three, four years ago we were the laughing stock of the whole NBA,” Embiid said. “Then now we’re here, everybody’s talking about us.”

Indeed, “The Process” has taken a long time to begin paying off for Philly. The team completely tanked for three years in a row in order to stack high draft picks necessary for a rebuild. They bottomed out with 10 wins in 2015-2016.

The team dealt with injuries; Embiid only played in 31 games during his first three seasons, while Ben Simmons missed his first season due to a foot injury.

It’s hard to blame Sixers fans for not being eager to spend time and money on a team that went 47-199 over a three-year stretch. Embiid should be more forgiving about that, especially when his inability to stay healthy was a big reason why there wasn’t much enthusiasm surrounding the team. Maybe he’ll let go of his grudge, just like he eventually did with his crush.

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