“That Was Some Michael Jordan S**t”: Joel Embiid Once Talked Trash to Jayson Tatum at an Intense Practice After Losing in the 2018 ECSF

Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid are two of the biggest superstars in the league right now. Tatum and Embiid are expected to be among the group of players to carry the mantle when LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant retire from the league. Both the MVP-caliber players are leaders of title-contending powerhouses in the Eastern Conference. Apart from facing each other several times in the regular season, the Boston Celtics Forward has gone up against the Philadelphia 76ers Center on three different occasions in the postseason. Being the premier team in the East they’ve been for the past five years, the Boston side has won all of the three matchups. Their battles in the playoffs can make Tatum and Embiid rivals on the hardwood. However, off the court, the two are good friends.

Due to a foot injury, Joel Embiid didn’t suit up for the first two seasons of his career. Furthermore, he only suited up for 31 games in the third season. The 2017-2018 season was when the 7-footer was completely healthy for the first time in his career. That same season was Jayson Tatum’s rookie campaign. Kickstarting their careers around the same time, Jayson and JoJo have had similar career trajectories so far.

Despite the Celtics-76ers rivalry that has been brewing over the past few years, both the Eastern Conference megastars have shared mutual respect. In this past 2022-2023 season, Tatum initially rallied for the Sixers big man to win the Most Valuable Player. Later in the playoffs, following a tough Game 7 loss, Embiid made sure to congratulate Tatum on his success.

Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum talked trash during their 1v1 practice in 2018

Drew Hanlen is one of the more established trainers for NBA athletes. Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid are two of his clients since the beginning of their respective careers. By virtue of sharing the same trainer, both the youngsters would link up during the 2018 summer and work on improving their skill sets together.

As expected, their one-on-one matchups were quite entertaining. Apart from displaying their deep offensive arsenals, the two youngsters couldn’t stop talking trash to each other. “The Process” started the banter after hitting a tough layup. Hyping himself up, Embiid compared his move to Michael Jordan.

“That was some MJ sh*t,” Joel Embiid could be heard saying.

Jayson Tatum was silent throughout. But he did calmly remind Embiid about the loss the Sixers faced against the Celtics, earlier, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2018 postseason.

“I beat you in the playoffs,” Tatum responded.

Take a look at the clip of their one-on-one matchup on ‘NBA on ESPN’s’ Instagram post.

Tatum kept drilling shots over the Center. Meanwhile, Embiid didn’t stay silent as well. Both stars managed to put on a show with their skills on full display.

Embiid joked around with Tatum despite the Game 7 loss

Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid led their respective teams past the first round of the 2023 postseason. Facing each other in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Sixers-Celtics series was as exciting as it could get.

The series was even at 3 games apiece after six games. During the decider Game 7, Tatum managed to go off on a scoring outburst. Knocking down shots as soon as the game tipped off, the 6-foot-8 Forward concluded the night with 51 points and the series win.

Being the supportive friends that they are, Embiid congratulated and joked around with Tatum. Taunting the Celtics star, JoJo said, “You chose today to friggen have that game?”