Joel Embiid was slammed on NBA Twitter when a clip of him saying "I can't win alone" went viral. Here's why the internet has it wrong on this one.
The 76ers ended another season in playoff disappointment on Sunday with a Game 7 implosion against the Celtics.
The 112-88 loss featured a god-like performance from Jayson Tatum, a 10-point third quarter from Philadelphia and a lackluster Joel Embiid.
Embiid's 15 points simply weren't enough. His team needed more from him and his running mate James Harden, who finished with nine points and a -30 box plus/minus.
Criticism for Embiid after the game wasn't limited to his play on the court alone. The reigning MVP took a beating on Twitter because of something he said in the postgame press conference.
"You can't win alone. I can't win alone. Me and James we just can't win alone," Embiid said in a clip that quickly went viral and earned the center a wave of derision.
The problem with Embiid's quote? NBA Twitter has it wrong.
NBA Twitter is misreading Joel Embiid's "I can't win alone" quote
Yeah, the literal words he said have been correctly transcribed, but as often happens with clipped quotes, the context of the question and the larger answer are missing.
Without context, it sounds like Embiid was throwing the rest of his 76ers teammates under the bus. That's not what he was doing.
NBA TV posted the full 107-second clip of the exchange, including the question posed specifically asking about the future of the Embiid-Harden duo.
Here's the question: "What's the next step for you and James as a tandem going forward and how much are you going to be in his ear this summer to have him come back here?"
And here's Embiid's complete answer:
"We got an unfinished job. We haven't won anything and I think we've got the chance to win. Obviously going to seven games and having the chance to close it out at home, which we didn't do, I still believe we've got the chance to win. We've got what it takes to win. I don't know what's going on [with Harden's upcoming free agency] and I know he has a player option so they can extend him but that's on those guys to figure it out. I'm going to stay out of it. I still believe that me and him, we've got the chance to win but it's going to take more than us. We all got to look at ourselves. I've got to be better and I will be better. That's what I'll focus on. All of us, we gotta come back and find ways to just keep improving and help the team. You can't win alone. I can't win alone. Me and James, we just can't win alone. That's why basketball is played five-on-five so we just need everybody to keep finding ways to get better and we'll be fine."
Embiid was asked about his partnership with Harden and he reiterated that he believed they could win together but that it isn't just about the two of them.
There's plenty to critique Embiid for after watching the 76ers blow a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics. Neither Embiid or Harden brought the level of game they'll need to win a championship on Sunday. And it's perfectly reasonable to wonder if the two of them together really do have what it takes to bring a title to Philadelphia in the future.
But jumping on Embiid for uttering the words, "I can't win alone," is unfair.
