Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid calls out Sixers fans for lack of home presence

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 4/28/24

The Philadelphia 76ers’ home-court advantage was largely missing on Sunday, as many New York Knicks fans managed to get tickets to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series at Wells Fargo Arena.

Knicks fans could be heard cheering throughout Sunday’s 97-92 win, and were particularly loud at the end of the game as New York closed things out and 76ers fans began to file out. The noise level was not lost on Joel Embiid, who made clear he was not pleased with what he heard.

"Disappointing. I love our fans, think it's unfortunate. I'm not calling them out, but it is disappointing… I've been here for 10 years, kind of pisses me off."

– Joel Embiid on the lack of home-court advantage and the significant amount of Knicks fans at Wells Fargo Arena pic.twitter.com/UcGX0LIkrn

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 28, 2024

“Disappointing. I love our fans, think it’s unfortunate. I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing,” Embiid said. “I’ve been here for 10 years, kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up, and I don’t think that should happen.”

Embiid may have said he was not calling the fans out, but it certainly wound up sounding like he was. After a frustrating loss at home and hearing the loud support for the road team, his frustration is certainly understandable.

Considering how much Knicks fans dislike Embiid, they will be absolutely thrilled to hear these comments. They managed to get Embiid to say he was disappointed with his own fans, and that is clearly a win for them.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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