Skepticism over fit has dogged Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for much of their time together in Philadelphia, but the duo themselves appear to share no such concerns.
This week on “The Rights to Ricky Sanchez” podcast, the Sixers star Embiid said that he wants to play with Simmons for the rest of his NBA career.
“When you think about it, this is only our third year together playing,” he said. “A lot of people, they always expect. We’ve only played for three years. The potential that we have. And I love him and want to be with him for the rest of my career because I think he still has a lot of potential, and me too.
“We can get so much better than we are right now,” Embiid went on. “I don’t ever see the point of playing with somebody else. That’s someone I would love to play with for the rest of my career.”
This is indeed the third season that the 24-year-old Simmons and the 26-year-old Embiid have played together. Critics will point to the duo’s failure to make it out of the second round over that span as well as the perceived incompatibility between their ball-dominant, floor-shrinking play styles.
That being said however, the Sixers may have discovered the best way to deploy their star tandem, and both players are still young enough to continue to grow and expand their games together.
