76ers vs. Pistons: Nerlens Noel’s Memories of Philly, Joel Embiid

How Nerlens Noel felt returning to Philadelphia to start against his former teammate Joel Embiid for the Detroit Pistons.
76ers vs. Pistons: Nerlens Noel’s Memories of Philly, Joel Embiid
76ers vs. Pistons: Nerlens Noel’s Memories of Philly, Joel Embiid /

For the fifth time in his NBA career, Detroit Pistons center Nerlens Noel sat in the visitor’s locker room at the Wells Fargo Center, gearing up to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Years ago, Noel would’ve been spotted down the hall donning a Sixers uniform, as that’s the organization where he started his professional playing career with. However, after three seasons with the Sixers, Noel found himself traded in year three to the Dallas Mavericks

When Noel starred for the Sixers, they were in a different position than they are today. Back then, Philadelphia was a rebuilding organization, going through their “Process” of playing for favorable draft picks and developing young talent. These days, the Sixers have an abundance of stars and are gunning for an NBA title.

Looking back at the difference between the Noel-led Sixers compared to today’s team, Noel is satisfied with the memories he made in Philadelphia and clearly far from regretful.

“I had my own path,” Noel said. “I have my own journey and everything here that is coming to success. I genuinely am happy for everybody here. From Joel to even you know, I'm proud of Sam Hinkie and what he was able to start. He doesn't get enough credit for it. So yeah, just I'm proud of everybody that's doing well here.” 

At the time of his Sixers run, Noel was a former sixth-overall pick who worked alongside the former third-overall pick, Joel Embiid. Before Embiid became the MVP-caliber center and frequent All-Star he is today, the former Kansas big man was learning the ropes of the big leagues from Noel while fighting to stay healthy.

While the two centers didn’t play a ton together, they’ve shared the court for a total of 350 minutes, according to Statmuse. At the time, Noel was the veteran that would help be a leader of Embiid and the Sixers, which is something the Pistons center takes pride in. 

“Philadelphia is like a second home to me,” Noel said on Tuesday night. “I got a lot of memories here. A lot of relationships. Joel, especially, you know, having (Joel) come in and helping him learn a couple of early-on things when things were murky, being a year or two ahead of him. I took a lot of pride in that and in helping him build the foundation that he has today. But he's a great player, you know? Hall of Fame future. And the coaching staff, front office, everybody. I got great relationships, and I valued my time here.”

Noel and Embiid haven’t been teammates since 2017, but they remain close to this day. While Noel’s a direct competitor of the 76ers, he’s happy about the organization’s quick turnaround over the years, even if he didn’t get to see it all through firsthand. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA