Joel Embiid Just Wants to Win a Championship “Whether That’s in Philly or Anywhere Else”

Joel Embiid with the 76ers in 2018
Joel Embiid with the 76ers in 2018. Photo by Rob Sambles/Frozen in Motion/REX/Shutterstock (9306399az)

After winning his first career NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2022-23, Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid is focused on his next goal: winning an NBA championship. And as it turns out, he is willing to do whatever it takes to do it, even if that means leaving Philadelphia and joining another team.

During a recent appearance during Los Angeles’ Uninterrupted Sports Film Festival, Embiid spoke about his commitment to get an NBA title on his resume.

“I just wanna win a championship, whatever it takes,” Embiid said. “I don’t know where that’s gonna be, whether that’s in Philly or anywhere else. I just wanna have a chance to accomplish — I wanna see what it feels like to win that first one, and then you can think about the next one.” 

Since entering the league as the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Embiid has accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish from the individual standpoint. However, he hasn’t come even close to winning an NBA title with the 76ers.

During Embiid’s time with the franchise, the 76ers are yet to reach the conference finals. They made the playoffs in each of the past six seasons but lost five times in the second round, alongside a first-round exit in 2019–20.

It remains to be seen whether a recent coaching change will move the needle for the 76ers. The franchise parted ways with Doc Rivers in May and later hired Nick Nurse as his replacement. Nurse has an NBA championship on his resume, having won it with the Toronto Raptors in 2018–19.