Joel Embiid has become public enemy No. 1 for New York Knicks fans during these playoffs. There have been quite a lot of complaints about the flopping, free throws, and some dirty plays, so it wasn’t all that surprising that some Knicks fans who went to Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for Game 4, started a ‘F**k Embiid’ chant.
Knicks fans chant “Fu*k Embiid” in Philly. 😳
(via @jessegolomb_, h/t @NBA_NewYork)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 28, 2024
That was quite a loud chant and that’s a lot of Knicks fans for a 76ers home game. You could even hear Embiid getting booed at the foul line during the contest, as there were so many fans of the road team at the arena. Considering how pivotal this Game 4 was, that certainly wasn’t ideal.
As for how the game went down, it was a back-and-forth affair but the Knicks eventually came out on top, winning 97-92. The 76ers’ offense just faltered down the stretch, as they did not make a field goal in the final five minutes of the game. They scored just three points in that time, all from the line.
Embiid scored one of those points, as he went 12-14 from the line and ended the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The 30-year-old was rather inefficient, however, as he went just 7-19 from the field. Embiid also didn’t manage to stay out of trouble, as he further antagonized himself as far as Knicks fans are concerned, by hitting Jalen Brunson in the face.
Jalen Brunson: Gets forearmed by Joel Embiid
Jalen Brunson: Says "That's bulls**t" to ref not calling
Rick Brunson: Directs Jalen to bench pic.twitter.com/ga3ZpoOwvJ
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 28, 2024
Even after some time had passed, Brunson was still fuming and could be seen asking Embiid why he did that.
Brunson to Embiid:
"What's that for?" pic.twitter.com/n6nMFi6sTE
— KnicksNation (@KnicksNation) April 28, 2024
Embiid, however, didn’t seem to believe he had done anything wrong there. If that was a one-off, you might have just brushed it aside, but there have been one too many questionable plays at this point.
Not sure how it’s possible to defend this type of behavior from Joel Embiid. pic.twitter.com/wns18rgvhY
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) April 26, 2024
That’s not a good look, to say the least, and I don’t blame Knicks players and fans for not being too pleased with Embiid at this point. The seven-time All-Star is unlikely to care too much about that, though. Embiid’s focus as of now would be on trying to help the 76ers overturn this 3-1 deficit. I certainly don’t like their chances of doing that, however.
Knicks Fans Also Put A Knicks Jersey On Wilt Chamberlain’s Statue
I mentioned that there were quite a few Knicks fans at this game, and they really did take over. At one point, fans even put a Knicks jersey on Wilt Chamberlain’s statue outside the arena.
Putting Knicks jerseys on the Wilt statue… it’s unsettling to see this. pic.twitter.com/8GbTo2kl5R
— Spencer McKercher (@swmckercher) April 28, 2024
That’s definitely a bit disrespectful, as Chamberlain is truly one of the greats of the game, but I don’t think Knicks fans have ever been considered to be a respectful bunch. They also stomped on 76ers merchandise outside the arena and it was really quite a wild scene.
More scenes outside of the Wells Fargo Center… pic.twitter.com/NZy9JCG1hm
— Spencer McKercher (@swmckercher) April 28, 2024
Spencer McKercher, who is an NBC Sports Philadelphia video producer, revealed that there was even a stall selling Knicks shirts outside the arena. McKercher said he had never seen a fanbase take over as Knicks fans did here.
Just got done interviewing Sixers fans, and in all my years working here, I haven’t seen a fan base take over as much as Knicks fans here.
There’s people selling Knicks SHIRTS outside in the concourse. What is going on pic.twitter.com/na4cj6DzMK
— Spencer McKercher (@swmckercher) April 28, 2024
You might have seen something like this happen in maybe a city that doesn’t care too much about basketball, but this is Philadelphia. It’s the last place I would have expected something like this to happen, yet it did. I would like to think that if we do get a Game 6 in this series, then a repeat of this won’t happen.
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