After Knicks fans invade 76ers arena, Joel Embiid calls home crowd rotation ‘disappointing’

by — April 30, 2024 in Sport

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid is disappointed, and not just because his Philadelphia 76ers are just one game away from elimination.

After a 97-92 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday that widened Philadelphia’s deficit in their first-round series to 3-1, Embiid said he found the turnout in his home stadium “disappointing.”

Knicks fans filled much of the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, serenading the team with cheers and their point guard, Jalen Brunson, with MVP chants.

“I love our fans,” Embiid said after the game. “(I think) it’s unfortunate and I’m not criticizing them, but it’s disappointing. Obviously you have a lot of Knicks fans and they’re down the road and I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Yes, it bothers me a little, especially since Philadelphia is considered a sports city. They’ve always shown up and I don’t think that should happen. Yes. It’s not right.”

New Yorkers didn’t show up just because the Knicks have one of the largest fan bases in the NBA. It was also about the location.

The Amtrak ride from New York’s Penn Station to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station takes just 90 minutes. With the weekend kicking off at 1 p.m., Knicks fans could take the train to Philadelphia and be home before dinnertime. Of course, Knicks fans are known for traveling well.

The team routinely draws crowds in other, less intense markets. Orlando is often jokingly referred to as New York South, because of all the Knicks fans that invade the Kia Center every time the Orange and Blue play there. Knicks fans also swarm the crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., twice a year, as do those who attend across the bridge at Barclays Center.

This is also not the first time they have come to the Wells Fargo Center. In January, Knicks fans flooded the 76ers arena during a 36-point victory over Philadelphia. By the end, with many of the Philadelphia fans gone, Brunson was getting MVP chants in a visiting stadium, one that’s home to a passionate fan base, and the reigning MVP, Embiid.

Philadelphia sports fans also have their own reputation.

They live or die with their major sports teams, including the 76ers. Brunson, who scored 47 points in the Game 4 victory, is more familiar with this than the average NBA player. He may have never played for the Sixers, but he starred at Villanova University, which is outside of Philadelphia and plays its games in the same stadium as the Sixers.

There is also one more reason.

“This Philadelphia fan base, I’ve said before, is very relentless, very passionate,” Brunson said. “I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I know, but seeing the Knicks, hearing the Knicks here is great. Is awesome.”

(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)