The 2022-23 NBA Most Valuable Player, Joel Embiid, made headlines for his controversial comments that he won’t participate in back-to-backs for the rest of his career. As a result, it has sparked an uproar from many who oppose the Cameroonian’s approach to the game. The most recent figure to criticize Embiid was comedian Sam Morril, who took a shot at the big man and the city of Philadelphia.
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Morril joined FanDuel TV’s ‘Run It Back’ to discuss the New York Knicks ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. Born and raised in New York, Morril is a diehard Knicks fan. In a flurry of passion, he expressed his distaste toward Embiid and the Sixers, while boasting about his fandom. He said,
“It’s your job. If I work at CVS I’m not going to be like, ‘I’m not going to work Tuesday and Wednesday…’ I hate Philly.”
"If i work at CVS i'm not gonna be like, i'm not gonna work Tuesday & Wednesday… I Hate Philly!" @sammorril on Joel Embiid's decision to skip back to backs 👀 pic.twitter.com/rDcdrR5xMQ
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) October 22, 2024
Embiid’s career has been haunted by injuries ever since he joined the league. Just last year, the 7-footer only played 39 games. He failed to meet the 65-game threshold for season awards following an MVP campaign the year before. His decision to sit out back-to-backs is an attempt to maintain his health by the time the NBA playoffs come around.
However, Morril didn’t take kindly to the Sixers star’s course of action. He took offense to Embiid’s decision to willingly call off when able to work. He mentioned that at any other job, they would deem performing a stunt such as this unacceptable.
Morril’s statement falls in line with the passionate rant made by Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett.
Kevin Garnett called out Embiid
The 2008 champion was more aggressive in his statement addressing Embiid. He implored that the 76ers’ man should not only play in back-to-backs but in all 82 regular season games. He claimed, “This is what the f*****g job calls for.”
Kevin Garnett goes off after hearing Joel Embiid’s decision to sit out of back-to-backs:
“82 games, man, this is what the fu***** job calls for.”
(via @allthesmokeprod) pic.twitter.com/kwZkLypYfu
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 19, 2024
Garnett criticized Embiid’s lack of pride in accepting the challenge of playing in every game possible. The amount of back-to-backs has decreased immensely each season, dropping 27.5% since the 2014-15 season.
During an era that had more back-to-backs, Garnett played all 82 games four times in his career. This remarkable feat included his MVP campaign in the 2003-04 season.
There is no guarantee that Embiid’s plan will work as injuries can happen at any moment. The best example of this is with Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers. They attempted to load-manage Kawhi in the 2022-23 season, but he still sustained an injury in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.
Embiid’s history of exiting the playoffs in the second round has been used against him in every NBA discussion. If his plan of sitting out back-to-backs doesn’t help the 76ers in the postseason, his reputation is bound to take a hit that it may never recover from.
