Paul Pierce Claims Joel Embiid Doesn’t Understand What It Means to Be Hated

Joel Embiid can’t catch a break right now. He doesn’t understand why fans and analysts dislike him, and his cold welcome in Paris by locals has only added to his confusion. Embiid went as far as to crown himself the league’s most hated player on The Check Ball Show. 

Paul Pierce, who is now a series regular on Undisputed, learned of Embiid’s comments from his co-host Skip Bayless. Their segment opened with a brief clip of Embiid talking about how he felt like he was the most hated player in the NBA,

“I am probably the most hated player in the NBA. I don’t know why, probably because I’m cool. I don’t know what I have that makes people hate me. I think many people can relate to me, I fight even harder.”

The All-Star center’s comments made Pierce laugh, and he addressed his comments by saying,

“I don’t think Embiid understands what it is to be hated. I will say like, I was hated in the NBA…I would look at us as more disappointed in Embiid, not hating. He will get criticism because sometimes he looks like sometimes he is not in the best of shape. Because we know that Embiid at his best is probably the best player in the league.”

Pierce added that the expectations from Embiid are sky-high right now and highlighted how the Team USA center was mistaking positive criticism for pure hatred. The Boston legend further explained what hatred looks like, using his experience from the 2011 All-Star game.

“Hate is when you get booed in the All-Star game like I was Skip. It was in Los Angeles [2011], during the 3-point contest.” 

As for Embiid, the Philadelphia star will most probably keep his opinion, considering the media’s constant criticism of his game. But with Paul George joining the 76ers and Maxey rounding out well, it’s not hard to see life-changing for Embiid.

Hopefully, both he and Paul George stay healthy considering their injury history, as the Championship draught in Philly might be inching closer to an end.