Joel Embiid never forgets about his forefathers.
Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Orlando Magic on Friday. The star center celebrated the occasion by ending his postgame press conference with a shoutout to former GM Sam Hinkie and the “Trust the Process” motto.
"Trust the process. Sam Hinkie knew."
Joel Embiid
(via @NBCSPhilly) pic.twitter.com/3qmQkKO73h
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) May 15, 2021
Embiid, who was drafted by Hinkie back in 2014, always rides for the ex-Sixers executive. Hinkie’s strategy of blatantly bottoming out for top draft selections was a controversial one and one that the Sixers did not quite see all the way through before his departure in 2016. But Hinkie’s efforts helped the team land both Embiid and Ben Simmons. Now that Philadelphia has clinched their first No. 1 seed as well as their first division title in the last 20 years, Hinkie has been vindicated in a sense.
There has even been talk recently of Hinkie attending a Sixers’ playoff game, as he is clearly still beloved by many in the organization.
