Joel Embiid saw his first action since the 76ers’ series-clinching win over the Raptors in Friday’s game three victory against the Heat, and after the game, he had plenty to say about the Toronto crowd that cheered while the Sixers center got to his feet after taking an elbow that fractured his orbital bone and gave him a concussion.
“I’ve always thought they had great fans, but that kind of changed my mind about their fans up there,” Embiid said after pulling Philadelphia back in its second-round series with a win on Friday. “It was throughout the series, the ‘F’ chants and all that stuff. That’s cool, it never gets to me anyways.”
Embiid took particular exception to Raptors fans chanting “F--k Embiid” as he was on the ground injured on the play immediately after he celebrated a dunk to open up a 29-point lead late in the fourth quarter, all but sending the Raptors home for the offseason.
“I think they got mad that I did the airplane celebration,” Embiid said. “But it’s been going on in a few arenas. The fans, they just feel it’s OK to say ‘F’ somebody. There’s a bunch of kids in the arena. I don’t think that should be OK, even if there weren’t kids.”
Embiid insists that the taunting doesn’t bother him, though he feels the Toronto crowd crossed a line, but he doesn’t feel he can react in the moment, only try and silence them with his game.
“If you respond to it, it’s a Draymond [Green] situation, and the league fines you,” Embiid said, noting the fine Green was issued for sticking his middle fingers up at fans. “It doesn’t really bother me, I’m just speaking for everyone in the NBA. If you give it, you also gotta be able to take it.”