Joel Embiid silences his skeptics with his candid response after a superb Game 5 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia 76ers are still alive in their series against the Boston Celtics. That is thanks to Joel Embiid's standout performance in Game 5. It was yet another instance of Embiid laying it all on the line to help the 76ers succeed.
He is just weeks removed from an emergency appendectomy, which led to him missing multiple games. Since returning in Game 4 of the series against Boston, he has done a great job of leading the 76ers, especially in Game 5.
Over the years, Embiid has been the butt of the joke for a lot of people within the NBA community. It mostly consists of people talking about his constant injuries and how he has never reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
It has been a rough career for Embiid, but despite that, he has found ways to shine. He is always working hard to represent the 76ers, and he is tired of the critics diminishing his efforts.
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After Game 5, Embiid made sure to highlight the hard work he has gone through just to play basketball. He has suffered plenty of injuries throughout his career, and his luck has not been good.
"I've dealt with a lot of stuff over my career. I don't complain, I just want to give as much as I can... know a lot of people might have takes of that I might be lazy or whatever, but every single time I'm on the floor I want to play as hard as possible," Embiid said after the Game 5 victory.
"I just want to play basketball, whether I'm good physically or mentally. I just want to enjoy this moment, just being part of a basketball team that's trying to accomplish something."
After years of struggles both mentally and physically, Embiid seems to be in a much better place nowadays. Thankfully, he is also playing well when he is healthy, so it further strengthens his resolve to help the 76ers.
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