Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are perhaps the two best basketball players on the face of the planet right now. For 3 straight years, they were 1 and 2 in the MVP race. And it seems like that will be the case again this season. Embiid is one of the best scorers we have seen in a long time, and Jokic is a triple-double machine. And with the two players being so great, it is only natural there will be a bit of a rivalry. Not necessarily between the players themselves. They have been nothing but cordial to each other. But Nuggets and Sixers fans are constantly arguing about Embiid vs Jokic.

The rivalry dates back to 2021 when Jokic first beat Embiid out for the MVP. Sixers fans and Nuggets fans bicker constantly about which big man is better. But what played out on Saturday night when the two teams faced each other was embarrassing. And no, I am not talking about Joel Embiid sitting out.

Nuggets fans had an All-Time hissy fit over Embiid getting scratched at the last minute. They called him soft, called it a disgrace to basketball, and some called for the NBA to punish the Sixers. Turns out players aren’t allowed to have injuries. No Embiid should have played through the knee pain for a regular season game, just to please them. They accuse him of caring too much about regular season awards, then get mad at him for sitting out during a regular season game. They somehow don’t realize that those two complaints oppose each other. The funniest part is them saying Embiid is scared of Jokic. As if he didn’t drop 41 on the Nuggets a week earlier while carrying his team to a win.

Sixers fans are far from innocent in the mud-slinging. They can be just as silly with anti-Jokic slander. But I can’t remember them ever embarrassing themselves like the Nuggets fans and media did Saturday night. The fans are one thing. But the Denver Media getting so petty and whiny was frankly embarrassing.

Here are the best, and whiniest, reactions from Nuggets Media on Saturday Night:

• Vic Lombardi Wants The Nuggets To Sit Their Starters

  Vic Lombardi on Twitter: "What a slap in the face to @nuggets fans. Next time Denver visits Philly, leave all five starters at home. Why give Philly fans the benefit? / Twitter"

  What a slap in the face to @nuggets fans. Next time Denver visits Philly, leave all five starters at home. Why give Philly fans the benefit?

  Okay, dude. Please tell the Nuggets to do that. Philly will take the easy win and just enjoy watching their team. Because, unlike the Nuggets, the Sixers wouldn’t let a team’s bench stay in the game. Maybe they would have under Doc Rivers. But this Sixers team has beaten up all the bad teams they played. We know that because people constantly try to rip on the Sixers for beating up on bad teams.

  Also, is he accusing the Sixers of sitting their starters on purpose? Does he not realize Melton has been out for a while, and Harris missed the last game too? Not to mention Embiid has missed other games for this same injury already.

• Vic Lombardi Keeps Complaining

  Vic Lombardi on Twitter: "Coaches know. Sixers are playing dumb. They should be embarrassed. The entire organization. Embarrassed. https://t.co/Ra23EXg9jt / Twitter"

  Coaches know. Sixers are playing dumb. They should be embarrassed. The entire organization. Embarrassed. https://t.co/Ra23EXg9jt

  Which team should be embarrassed here? Cause I feel like it’s way more embarrassing to almost lose to a team missing 4 of their starters. Marcus Morris, Paul Reed, and Pat Beverley almost beat your starters. Not only were the Sixers down their 3 best players, on top of DeAnthony Melton and Robert Covington, but the players who did play had to play extra minutes. And you saw that at the end of the game with the Sixers players looking exhausted. But that team almost beat you. That is way more embarrassing than letting injured/sick players rest.

• Zach Bye Thinks Embiid Should be Embarrassed

  Zach Bye on Twitter: "Really embarrassing moment for Joel Embiid. National TV game, 2 MVP's head to head, & minutes before tip-off he taps out?! Guy hasn't squeaked his sneakers in Denver since 2019. All fans get screwed today, especially the ones who paid a premium for tickets! / Twitter"

  Really embarrassing moment for Joel Embiid. National TV game, 2 MVP's head to head, & minutes before tip-off he taps out?! Guy hasn't squeaked his sneakers in Denver since 2019. All fans get screwed today, especially the ones who paid a premium for tickets!

  The medical team shut him down. The Sixers’ focus this season is keeping him healthy for the playoffs. Embiid got ripped apart last year for how much he cared about winning MVP by these same people. But now he is ducking a chance to prove he is the best player? How do those two arguments make sense together? If it was up to Embiid, he would be out there. But the team is extra careful with him, because of his injury history. Sorry if that is inconvenient for you Zach. But the Sixers are right to care more about his long-term health than about one regular season game. And the fact he will miss the game after the Nuggets game too proves it was a genuine injury.

  Also the week before it was Nuggets fans saying the regular season doesn’t matter. Now it does? Make up your mind.

• Michael Malone Whines After The Game

  Legion Hoops on Twitter: "Michael Malone on Joel Embiid not playing vs. Nuggets:"I don't know how you go from being active, available, to out. I'm sure the league will do their due diligence. Becasue that's frowned upon."(via @HarrisonWind) pic.twitter.com/SwVnSla7J5 / Twitter"

  Michael Malone on Joel Embiid not playing vs. Nuggets:"I don't know how you go from being active, available, to out. I'm sure the league will do their due diligence. Becasue that's frowned upon."(via @HarrisonWind) pic.twitter.com/SwVnSla7J5

  The injury got worse. That is how it happened. Everyone has had an injury that is fine one moment, then you move it a certain way, and it flares up. And yes, the fact other players are also out does change the math. Are you going to risk playing Embiid when you don’t have Harris or Maxey? Also, come on Mike. You just watched your team almost lose to the Sixers bench, and this is your first concern?

• Woody Paige Weighs In

  Woody Paige on Twitter: "If the Nuggets finish with a better record than Philadelphia and they meet in NBA Finals Denver wins repeat title because Embiid won't play in the four games at altitude. / Twitter"

  If the Nuggets finish with a better record than Philadelphia and they meet in NBA Finals Denver wins repeat title because Embiid won't play in the four games at altitude.

  Love you on Around The Horn Woody, but this is silly. Embiid would actually play in the game if it mattered. This dude played through serious injuries in the playoffs in the past. Twice he played with a mask during the playoffs because his orbital bone was fractured. The idea that he is somehow soft, is laughable.

• Jake Shapiro Questions Embiid's Character

  Jake Shapiro on Twitter: "Nick Nurse on Joel Embiid's absence tonight. Reaffirms it's an injury that the medical staff became concerned with 20 mins before tip. pic.twitter.com/dxV4VdVIbo / Twitter"

  Nick Nurse on Joel Embiid's absence tonight. Reaffirms it's an injury that the medical staff became concerned with 20 mins before tip. pic.twitter.com/dxV4VdVIbo

  And perhaps the most ridiculous of them all, was this guy from ‘Denver Sports’ thinking it was appropriate to question Embiid’s character during Nick Nurse’s press conference. That is not a reporter asking a serious question. That is a guy looking for a sound byte. Not even a sound byte from Nick Nurse, but a sound byte from himself. because Nick Nurse did the proper thing and pretty much ignored the question. It is just something he did to make himself look good in the eyes of Nuggets fans. Says way more about his character than missing that game said about Embiid’s.

• Nuggets Fans Chant At Embiid

  Cassidy Hubbarth on Twitter: "Embiid has come out to the Sixers bench for this close finish to a chorus of boos from these Denver fans... pic.twitter.com/tKhHXSfjMU / Twitter"

  Embiid has come out to the Sixers bench for this close finish to a chorus of boos from these Denver fans... pic.twitter.com/tKhHXSfjMU

  I guess the Nuggets really wanted to see Embiid score 40 on them, again. If Embiid were able to play, based on how close the game was without him, the Sixers likely would have won. They should be thanking him. They got a win out of it.

Sign Up For The Fanatic MVP Insider Newsletter

Get the info you need on the Philly Sports landscape, events you need to know about, exclusive contests, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.