Joel Embiid Denies Celtics ‘Surpassed’ 76ers With Offseason Moves

The Celtics and Bucks reaffirmed themselves as the favorites in the Eastern Conference when they made aggressive trade moves this offseason, but Joel Embiid wanted to pump the brakes on the hype.

Boston shocked the NBA world when it traded Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal where it acquired Kristaps Porzingis. The C’s also traded away Grant Williams the same month, and on Sunday, the moves continued when the Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday.

The acquisition of the veteran guard came after the Milwaukee Bucks made a blockbuster move for Damian Lillard. The Eastern Conference arms race resulted in both teams becoming co-favorites to win the NBA title.

The market has the Philadelphia 76ers on the outside looking in. James Harden still has tensions with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and the Sixers didn’t make any significant offseason roster moves.

However, Embiid saw things differently when he arrived at 76ers media day this week.

“Who said they surpassed us?” Embiid told reporters, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “We still have to go out there and compete. You can do whatever you want off the court. But you still gotta go out there and put the ball in the hoop. I believe that any team that I’m on, we’re always going to have a chance.”

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Last season’s MVP certainly is not wrong, and it’s why analysts question whether the Celtics can make their new pieces work — though Boston’s stars are confident in the new-look roster.

But it’s hard not to look at the 76ers’ lack of success against the Celtics and Bucks during the Embiid era. Philadelphia hasn’t beaten the Celtics in a playoff series since the 1981-82 season, and Embiid is 3-12 against Boston in the postseason.

Philadelphia also has never made it to the conference finals with Embiid. The Bucks won the NBA title in the 2020-21 season, and the Celtics made the conference finals in five of the last seven seasons, including an NBA Finals appearance in the 2021-22 season.

Offseason hype doesn’t matter once the regular season starts, but history shows it’s Embiid and the 76ers who have the most to prove that they belong in the conversation among the top contenders.