Dear Joel Embiid: There’s no escaping Knicks fans

Dear Joel Embiid,

I’ve gotta hand it to you. Amidst your Philadelphia 76ers getting squashed, swept, and shellacked by the New York Knicks in Game 4, you played a great game! Give credit where it’s due: 24 points in 28 minutes while making all eight shot attempts. The -24 isn’t so much a referendum on you or your team’s performance, but rather one other absolute truth:

The New York Knicks simply wanted it more.

Forget that it was a clean four-game sweep, one in which the Knicks did not even have top defender OG Anunoby for Games 3 and 4. Your Sixers were beat by an average of 22.2 points per game this entire series. Did the Knicks really want it more, or were you and your teammates just gassed out from upsetting Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics? Thanks, by the way.

But, Joel, let’s not rub salt in the wound. You’ve got enough to recover from between the hip and the ankle injuries that held you out of Game 2, plus your appendectomy from a few weeks back.

Rather, let’s talk about some pointed remarks you made to Sixers fans about not selling tickets to Knicks fans.

“Don’t sell your tickets,” you said, lamenting the Knicks fans invading Philly in 2024. “This is bigger than you. We need you guys.”

Um, Joel? I hate to break it to you, but have you maybe considered looking at a map? Both of the United States and your home city? Let’s break it down.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The City of Brotherly Love herself. Home of Rocky Balboa, cheesesteaks (Pat’s, provy wit), the Phanatic, great museums, and greater history.

Geographically, the city is 100 miles southwest of New York City, and our nation’s capital Washington, DC another 144 miles away. A perfect midway point between the two.

And like most major cities, Philadelphia has a few New York ex-pats. So does DC! Add that it’s only about two hours on Amtrak from each city, and of course Knicks fans will make the trip up the interstate.

But moreover, Joel, you should know that telling Knicks fans not to show up to a playoff game at Xfinity is a fool’s errand. And not just because of the New Yorkers who may call your city (Or DC) home.

Rather, you forget the sheer number of New York-born students who currently attend school in the city. UPenn. Drexel. Villanova. La Salle. Even St. Joe’s! And we’ll expand to the suburbs and include Haverford and Swarthmore just for fun.

Want the DC side too? Well, you’re getting it anyway. Georgetown. American. George Washington. Howard. The Catholic University of America! More than a healthy handful of New Yorkers scattered across their campuses and the city.

Now, add the fans who live there anyway who also attended Games 3 and 4.

Face it, Joel. New York Knicks fans “invading” Xfinity Mobile Arena wasn’t just a happy accident. It was an inevitability. Don’t underestimate fans who endured two full decades of their team being something between a punchline and laughingstock.

The 76ers could be the top team in the league for a few years running, and still they’d somehow be the third-string team behind the Eagles and Phillies. Philadelphia is a sports town, but basketball just isn’t her bread and butter. Never has been, no matter how hard your predecessors Allen Iverson and Julius Erving tried. And Dr. J even won a championship with the Sixers when they swept the Showtime Lakers in 1983!

But where was Julius Erving from originally? East Meadow, New York. The pride of Long Island. Roosevelt High School’s finest.

It’s hard to hear, but the truth hurts. Geography is a hell of an inconvenience. Maybe Philadelphia shouldn’t have such good schools. Or a reasonable cost of living! Anything to keep us pesky, rowdy, New Yorkers out!

We don’t dislike you, Joel. In fact, we thrive on this little rivalry. New York loves going toe to toe with Boston and Philly. Someone’s gotta be the best of the northeastern USA, right?

Anyway, rest up and recover nicely. Aim to play in more than 50 games next year. Maybe ditch Nick Nurse and hire a more innovative coach.

New York will be waiting. We’ll save you some seats at MSG, but only if you’re up to getting on Amtrak.

Be well,

Knicks Nation.