What Draymond told Embiid after the Warriors beat the 76ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
If Draymond Green has words of encouragement for you, you should probably sit still and listen.
Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the Warriors’ blowout victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at Chase Center, Green revealed the wisdom he shared with NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who has been under fire throughout the 2024-25 NBA season.
After all, Green, who also experiences his fair share of criticism, knows what it takes to block out negative and unnecessary noise.
“I told him to move on,” Green told Burke. “I told him I know what it feels like when everyone is against you. It’s hard.
“Everyone is against him right now like he did something bad to his mother, and all he did was live his life, deal with the injuries he had, try to be on the court and be the best player.” possible, and still gets a lot of hate for it.”
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Embiid has faced a lot of criticism from both the media and fans for missing more than half of the 76ers’ 32 games so far.
Earlier this season, the superstar center was ruled out with what the team called a “left knee injury management,” an injury that had not been revealed until the preseason began.
At the end of October, the NBA supposedly investigated Philadelphia for Embiid’s involvement. At the time, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said Embiid “won’t play many consecutive games, if at all.”
“I just tell them to keep going, keep going and trust your body,” Green added. “Listen to your body, but move on and forget about all those people who have something to say.
“They don’t know what it takes. They don’t even know what it takes to be great at what they do, but they want to criticize you for what you’re great at. But you don’t know what it takes to be great, so forget them. But I said it a little differently.”
Thursday night, however, was not the first night Green took the time to advise a colleague. From time to time, the four-time NBA champion offers support to players, especially those who find themselves in difficult situations.
“Everyone always thinks we live an easy life,” Green told Burke. “It’s a tough life we live. You just want to see your good wishes for the guys, tell them to stay healthy, ask them how they’re doing, ‘How’s your family?’
“Everyone thinks we’re superhuman here and that’s just not the reality. And so I always try to check and make sure that the younger guys are trying to give them some words of encouragement, some advice. To the guys that have been here, you’re telling them to keep pushing, to keep going, especially now.
“The dog days in the NBA used to be at the end of January. With the seasonal tournament, it is not. So try to reach the boy’s ears, give him some good words before we part. “You never know what’s going to happen in the future, so try to reach the kids’ ears.”
That’s good advice from Green, regardless of what Embiid does about it.
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