Joel Embiid’s Answer About Wanting to Win NBA Titles Should Concern Sixers Fans

The NBA MVP sounds as if he’s willing to play elsewhere at some point in his career.

Joel Embiid answered a routine question during a speaking event last week, but he didn’t give a routine answer.

The 76ers star and reigning NBA MVP appeared to hint that he might not spend his entire career in Philadelphia, leading to speculation by observers.

Embiid was promoting the launch of his Miniature Géant Studio while at the first annual Uninterrupted Film Festival at NeueHouse Hollywood on Thursday when he was asked what people can expect from him over the course of his career. 

“I just wanna win a championship. Whatever it takes,” he told sports marketer Maverick Carter. “I don’t know where that’s gonna be. Whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else, I just wanna have a chance to accomplish—I wanna see what it feels like to win that first one and think about the next one.” 

Was not expecting Joel Embiid to say “or anywhere else” when talking about championships… He’s close to his breaking point here in Philly. pic.twitter.com/0MqXX1rnrT

— AJ Torres (@ajtorres1230) July 17, 2023

The 29-year-old’s obsession with winning an NBA title is clear, but what’s interesting is the fact that he brought up winning a title somewhere else without being prompted and appears to be more than open to that scenario. He added “it takes more than one, two, three guys” to win a championship, which could be viewed as a shot at 76ers leadership regarding his supporting cast over the years.

The six-time All Star is coming off his best season in 2022-23. He led the NBA in scoring at 33.1 points per game, a career-high, and was named All-NBA first-team for the first time in his career as well. But his squad again failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs, losing to the Celtics in seven games. 

Embiid was selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA draft and has spent his whole career with the 76ers. But it remains to be been where he’ll end his playing days.