January 23, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid and his former coach Brett Brown share a moment after the Sixers center's historic 70-point night.
Joel Embiid had just achieved history, scoring a franchise record 70 points to the roar of a Wells Fargo Center crowd echoing with "M-V-P!" chants, and to the witness of an old friend.
After the final horn sound on Embiid's monumental night and the Sixers' 133-123 win over the Spurs on Monday, former coach Brett Brown – now a Spurs assistant – walked across the court to share a moment with his former players Robert Covington, Furkan Korkmaz, and at the center of it all, Embiid.
All four have come a long way since the days of "The Process" and the Sixers' long-awaited leap into contention that started with the 2017-18 season.
So was it fitting to have Brown in the building for Embiid's greatest performance yet? Definitely.
"I'm glad I did it in front of him," the Sixers superstar said with a smile postgame. "Nah, but, obviously I started with him. First coach. He's taught me a lot, not just on the basketball side, but off the court, too. Maturing was a big part of it. So it's always good to see him, especially on the sideline.
"He's done a lot, not just for me, but the whole city of Philadelphia, too. When you think about everything that happened, the losing seasons and to still come out on top and have the success that he had, that's pretty cool. But it's always good to see him. I'm kinda glad I did it in front of him so he can kinda see the product of what he created."
"I'm kind of glad I did it in front of him, so he can kind of see the product of, you know, what he created."
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 23, 2024
A very special moment between Joel Embiid and his first-ever Sixers head coach, Brett Brown. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/IUqwQgCP0C
Brown was hired as the Sixers' head coach ahead of the 2013-14 season – and was let go in 2020 – as the one to oversee players' development while the organization underwent its notorious rebuild that came to be known as "The Process." It brought on a lot of dark years for the team that often saw them finish at the very bottom of the league standings, but all in the hopes that it would acquire enough draft capital to land a game-changing superstar.
In the summer of 2014, though it took a lot of time after to realize it, Embiid became that star.
And after Monday night, one that's never shined brighter.
Joel Embiid celebrating a Sixers franchise record 70 points with former coach Brett Brown pic.twitter.com/9GWkJaOzQ4
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 23, 2024
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