Joel Embiid Takes Subtle Shot At Jayson Tatum, Opens Up About His Relationship With Paul George

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers dropped to 9-3 in this 2026-27 NBA season after a 123-101 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Tuesday. All the talk going into this game was about Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum , and the former getting revenge against the Celtics for trading him, but it was someone else who shone against his former team. Paul George erupted for 36 points (14-22 FG), five rebounds, and one assist against the 76ers, but Embiid didn’t seem too surprised by his former teammate’s performance in his postgame press conference . “He played well,” Embiid said, via PHLY Sports. “He came in here, and that’s what he’s been doing all season. He’s healthy, he’s in a good space mentally. So yeah, I mean, he’s been playing well all season, and he just did what he was doing all season.” George, whom the Celtics acquired for Brown in the summer, is definitely having a good season, and this is the best we’ve seen him play since his time with the Los Angeles Clippers . The nine-time All-Star struggled with injuries during his two seasons with the 76ers, but is doing well physically and mentally on his new team. Now, Tatum and Brown’s relationship had evidently broken down by the time their partnership ended in the summer, but that’s not the case here. Embiid spoke about having a special relationship with George and threw a subtle jab at Tatum in the process. ‘Obviously, Paul is great,” Embiid said. “Off the court, we have a special relationship. Families are close, especially both of our kids. Actually, all of our kids. So yeah, I mean, I love him. I think that’s why I’m extremely happy for him. He’s healthy; he’s playing well. He’s been, from the start of the season, you see what he did tonight; you can kind of say he’s been the best player, to a certain level. “So, yeah, extremely happy for him, proud of him,” Embiid added. “Obviously, we have a good relationship outside of this whole thing, and that’s what matters.” George has been great, but has he been the Celtics’ best player over Tatum? Probably not, and even the 36-year-old might disagree. George was undoubtedly better against the 76ers, though, as Tatum had 21 points (8-17 FG), six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. He has struggled a bit with efficiency, but is now averaging 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2026-27. This sure doesn’t seem like a player who tore his Achilles 18 months ago. As for George, he is putting up 22.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He has been a fine second option to Tatum, and these two have the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 9-2 record. This might have been the Celtics’ best win of the season, but also the 76ers’ worst defeat. It was the threes that doomed them here, with the visitors going 22-49 (44.9%) from beyond the arc, and Embiid touched on what went wrong. “Yeah, obviously, tied the game and then they made like four in a row and then went on another run to start the fourth quarter,” Embiid said. “Yeah, that’s what they do. They want to shoot a lot of threes… Just got to make them take tough, contested twos, and we didn’t do that, and they got hot, and the game got away from us.” The 76ers had tied the game at 76 midway through the third quarter, but the Celtics then went on a 12-3 run and never looked back. Embiid actually went scoreless after the hosts tied things up, and he finished the night with 11 points (4-12 FG), eight rebounds, and five assists. It was a poor showing, and the 32-year-old will look to bounce back when the 76ers take on the Toronto Raptors next at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.