Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid gave an interview to Sam Amick at The Athletic after the Lakers game last Wednesday, where he talked about his relationship with Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ title chances, and how he doesn’t trust cryptocurrency:
Amick: So on that point, help me understand some of the relationships with this group. I covered Houston a lot during the Harden years, and got to know Daryl really well, Tad (Brown, the former Rockets CEO who joined Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment as CEO in April and oversees the Sixers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils). I covered James and all those Rockets teams closely. But you don’t have history with any of them, I don’t believe, and all of a sudden these are extremely important people around you. It seems like you trusted them a lot all the way through. Is that the case? And if so, where did that come from?
Embiid: Well, when we got Daryl, I didn’t know him at all. I just knew him obviously because he was the GM of the Rockets. I sat down with him when we got him, and we just had a conversation about what he thought — what were his goals? And after having a conversation — you know, I don’t do anything with my life other than family. That’s what I do (Embiid and his fiancé, supermodel Anne de Paula, have an 18-month-old son, Arthur). And just talking to (Morey, Embiid could tell) how smart he was and I kind of related to him. So from that first conversation…
Amick: Where were you when you had this sit-down?
Embiid: It was actually one of the owner’s houses that I went to.
Amick: Michael’s?
Embiid: Yes, (Sixers billionaire co-owner) Michael (Rubin). And then from that first conversation, I was (impressed). …He’s extremely smart. We just kept talking and talking and talking. And the thing that I liked was that it wasn’t about basketball. It was about life. Whether it’s crypto, or all the smart people stuff.
Amick: He got you on crypto, huh?
Embiid: I’m not big on it. I don’t believe in it. I just like to learn a little bit about everything.
Doesn’t look like Joel Embiid is buying any Cryptopunks or Bored Apes or Shitcoin or CumRocket or any type of cryptocurrency or NFTs any time soon. His Twitter name won’t be Joel “Troel” Embiid.eth and thank God for that.
I’m in the Crypto game a little bit. I made $50 on the great DOGE rise of 2021 (thanks Elon Musk) and if Kendrick Nunn ever becomes the All-NBA guard I think he can be, I’m going to buy a house with his NBA Top Shot. What? It was in the middle of a pandemic and I was bored. It’s a long-term growth play.
I don’t really give two shits about Crypto, but I’ll never hate on people who are passionate about something and want to diversify their portfolio. Our dad’s generation collected baseball cards and vinyls. We’re doing the same thing except they’re in the metaverse now. But I’m sure the Sixers’ jersey sponsor Crypto.com loves hearing the team’s best player saying he “doesn’t trust it,” just as much as Sixers fans love hearing Joel Embiid halfheartedly telling us the Sixers can win it all if everyone plays perfect basketball:
Amick: Does it feel like you can win it all this year?
Embiid: We have a chance. But we’ve all got to play at the highest level possible. I’ve got to be as dominant as ever. Obviously (Harden) has to be extremely good, too, whether it’s scoring the ball or setting up guys. Everybody else has got to come in together and believe in it and really buy-in. Tyrese (Maxey) has been great. Tobias (Harris) has been great. Matisse (Thybulle) has been great. Georges (Niang) and guys coming off the bench, they’ve been great. So I think it’s all about — even nights like tonight. I’m not happy about the way we played. Honestly, it should have been a blowout. We started off not good, didn’t get stops and didn’t do what we were supposed to do. It should have been a blowout, but it is what it is. And that’s why I say that we’ve got work to do.
Womp.