The Best Players Joel Embiid Has Teamed With

During Joel Embiid’s career with the Philadelphia 76ers, he has been the teammate with a number of players since being drafted third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. Some good, some bad. Here, we’ll look back at the very best of the many to wear the Sixers uniform since the 2016-17 season when he played 31 games to begin his career.

The most accomplished player next to Embiid. The 2016 #1 overall pick helped turn the franchise around and had a lot of success. Four playoff appearances all ending in second-round exits. Simmons racked up plenty of individual accomplishments along the way. Including the 2017-18 Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie team the same year, 3x All-Star, 2019-20 All-NBA Third Team, and 2x All-Defense. During the 2020-21 playoffs, they were the number one seed in the East playoffs, eventually knocked out by the 5th-seeded Atlanta Hawks. Simmons was traded the following season to the Brooklyn Nets.

Jimmy Butler played in 55 games with the Sixers. They made it to the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors on an unforgettable buzzer-beater by Kawhi Leonard in the final seconds of game 7. Butler joined the Miami Heat as a free agent in the offseason.

Harden was traded at the trade deadline to Philadelphia from Brooklyn. The point guard helped the 76ers to the 3rd seed in the East playoffs but couldn’t get them past the second round like the other four appearances with Embiid leading the show. He has logged 34 games with the Sixers and will give it another try this season.

Redick suited up for two seasons as 1B to Embiid’s 1A. The two-man game they ran together was beautiful basketball as they played off each other so well. With Redick’s shooting and Embiid’s dominance, teams really had trouble dealing with the 1-2 punch of the duo. Dribble handoffs, pick and rolls, and simple screens set by both to free up the other. It was a joy to watch them work for two successful seasons. The sharp-shooting two-guard left in free agency in the summer of 2019 for the New Orleans Pelicans. Redick averaged 17.6 points per game, shooting .407 percent from three in 133 games with the Sixers.

 Harris was traded to the 76ers at the trade deadline in 2019, Harris helped to form maybe the best overall group during Embiid’s tenure. Embiid, Redick, Harris, Simmons, and Butler should’ve made more noise while together that season. But he was a part of the group that the Raptors knocked out. They never had a chance to run it back as a group, though Harris has been a Mainstay in the lineup alongside Embiid ever since.