Not all breakups in the NBA tend to have some bad blood, but it is safe to say Ben Simmons’ exit from the Philadelphia 76ers resulted in plenty of it. It had turned into a really messy situation, and every time Simmons heads back to Philadelphia for the rest of his career, he can expect to be showered with boos.
It was no different when the Brooklyn Nets took on the Sixers on Wednesday night, as the fans went at him. There was some added spice to this one, though, as it was also the first time that Simmons went up against Joel Embiid, who had basically thrown him under the bus after the Hawks series in 2021, and we got some fireworks as the two men clearly haven’t buried the hatchet.
Joel and Ben 👀 pic.twitter.com/vQz9zHSRKb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 26, 2023
Embiid seemed to go at Simmons during the game, but the big man said afterward that he wasn’t targeting his former teammate.
via Sixers Wire:
“I was not,” Embiid swore. “If you look at the way I play, it doesn’t matter, whatever matchup every single night. Whoever’s in front of me, it’s always the same aggression and it’s always the same aggression as far as trying to score the ball. Tonight, that was the same thing.”
“Like every single night, I just fricking kill whoever’s in front of me.”
He does play with that aggression on most nights, but there is no denying that there was a bit more to this matchup. A dream scenario for all of us would be if these two teams get to face off in the postseason, as things would definitely get very intense.
Joel Embiid Trolled Kevin Durant After The Win
Embiid and the Sixers came out on top here, as he scored 26 points while hauling in 10 rebounds in a 137-133 win. Simmons, meanwhile, had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists as the Nets suffered their 5th defeat in 7 games without Kevin Durant.
KD definitely wanted to be out there for the game, but he had to be satisfied with tweeting about it. He called out Embiid for flopping at one point, and the big man hilariously fired back afterward with a DX video! This Sixers-Nets matchup definitely has the potential to be the best rivalry in the NBA moving forward.
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