By Steve Kelly
Joel Embiid sat yesterday for his first interview since the Sixers lost Game 4 to Boston on Aug. 23.
And it sounded refreshingly introspective and very upbeat.
“It was tough,” he said. “When you are considered top 10 … NBA player or whatever, when you are up there and not make an all-NBA team, that just shows you a lot,” he said. “It is what it is. You can’t get mad at it, but … I was extremely disappointed because I didn’t get the respect that I deserved
“You’ve got to be able to win, and that’s where it starts,” he said. “If you are not going to win, you are not going to get respect. So that is all I care about, because at the end of the day, when you win, everybody else wins.”
With the acquisition of snipers Seth Curry and Danny Green, that should provide more space for Embiid.
“Someone like JJ, I new what he needed. I knew where I needed to go, and I knew how to make it better,” Embiid said. “Like I would expect the same from someone like Seth. But it is going to take time.”
As with all the Sixers, Embiid is excited about the arrival of new coach Doc Rivers.
“Coach Rivers I think is going to be great,” Embiid said. “We’ve been talking a lot, trying to figure out how I can best help as a leader.”
Embiid is also looking forward to working with backup center Dwight Howard, now in the twilight of his career but an eight-time All-Star.
“I’ve never had any Hall of Fame big men around me as a coach or as a player, so I think he’s going to great,” Embiid said.
? @JoelEmbiid addresses the media during individual workouts. https://t.co/VknjaP86WD
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 4, 2020
