Marcus Smart and Joel Embiid have had issues with each other stretching back to their college days. Naturally, the pair got drafted on opposite ends of a heated Eastern Conference rivalry as Smart went to the Celtics and Embiid went to the Philadelphia 76ers. The pair have had their moments in NBA games before, with the opening night of the 2022-23 season being no different.
Smart and Embiid getting chippy 👀🍿 https://t.co/xkTEFj2NgU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2022
Embiid and Smart got into a scuffle during the game that saw Embiid drag Smart down with him. The referees penalized Smart for the offense even though the video showed Embiid to be the one at fault. Naturally, this has elicited some strong comments from Smart post-game.
“He went for a rebound, basketball play. I went for the steal, basketball play. Referee blows his whistle, calls the foul. I stop play, but my arm is stuck in there and he tries to break it. Then I am the only one that gets a tech. Everyone saw it, so I don’t need to keep talking about it. If I did that, I would have gotten ejected a d suspended 3 or 4 games, fines. The fact that I am the only one that got a foul is something that’s beyond me, the defending DPOY. That’s how he gets treated? Like I said, it’s maturity. I could have cracked his head open, but I didn’t. That’s the maturity we have. We move on from it, it is what it is, and control what we can control.”
"I could have cracked his head open, but I didn't" 😳
Marcus Smart on his scuffle with Joel Embiid
(via @RealBobManning)pic.twitter.com/1iZQH3S1k2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2022
The Boston Celtics won the encounter 114-126 in the TD Garden, a strong start to a season that they hope can yield better results than last year.
The Marcus Smart And Joel Embiid Rivalry
Embiid and Smart started their rivalry in college when Embiid’s Kansas Jayhawks were upset by Smart’s Oklahoma State Cowboys. Smart proceeded to perform a backflip over the Jayhawks logo after the win, a pretty disrespectful move that Embiid late mocked in a tweet. He also made his first Instagram post a poster dunk on Marcus with the caption ‘not very smart to jump’.
In the NBA, the pair have had heated moments on the court, including very common arguments over which one of them is a bigger flopper. Smart called Embiid a flopper, prompting coach Doc Rivers to defend Joel. This rivalry is deeper than a missed foul call, and the tensions seem to still be alive and well.
