PHILADELPHIA — Long, long before Joel Embiid was an MVP and putting together one of the very best multi-year stretches in NBA history, Brett Brown was helping him come along as simply an NBA player. Embiid is in his fourth season and on his second head coach since Brown was fired but his love and appreciation for his first NBA head coach has never wavered.

In the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the San Antonio Spurs, Embiid went off for an incredible 70 points, the highest in his career and in franchise history. He tacked on 18 rebounds and five assists to reach a stat line only Michael Jordan has ever done previously. Brown, now in his second season on Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio, got to witness it up close.

Embiid chatted with Brown after the game, as did 76ers teammates Robert Covington and Furkan Korkmaz, who also spent their formative years in the league with Brown at the helm. The meaning of the moment isn’t lost on anyone who remembers the time when it felt like Embiid would never see an NBA court, when the Spurs beat the Sixers by 51 points in 2015. All those years of misery have spawned a beautiful bond between the two men who played the biggest parts in turning the tides.

Joel Embiid has not forgotten the hard work of Brown and Sam Hinkie, the executive who drafted him. The 76ers' present-day problems of not being able to get past the second round is a blessing compared to the days when the team would go weeks without wins — and when Embiid wasn’t even healthy enough to play. For him to put up one of the best games ever against Brown's current team means something.

“I'm glad I did it in front of him,” Embiid said with a smile before praising Brown for the job he did leading the 76ers through those tumultuous years.

“He’s done a lot, not just for me but for the whole city of Philadelphia, too,” Embiid said. “When you think about everything that happened, the losing seasons, to still come out on top and have the success that he had, that's pretty cool. It's always good to see him. But I’m kinda glad I did it in front of him so he can kinda the product of what he created.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
76ers Joel Embiid on the bench from game one or game two of playoff series vs. New York Knicks with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart smiling or laughing.

Drew Maresca ·

76ers' Joel Embiid in front of a picture of Embiid at the postgame podium in sunglasses

Sam DiGiovanni ·

Tom Thibodeau in New York Knicks coaching uniform

Brian Buyawe ·

Embiid's game has changed a lot since Brown was coaching him — NBA basketball has done the same. Even though the 76ers' giant operates more from the foul line than the block and is much more of a playmaking hub now, his brilliance as a big man who can shoot off the dribble and command the game defensively was initially molded by Brown. It started with his first points off of a jumper from the foul line featuring picturesque footwork.

Joel Embiid's NBA debut was the beginning of his quest to be the player to lift the 76ers back into relevancy. Brown said at the time that both Embiid and the city deserved to see the special talent play out on the court. He scored 20 points that night in 2016. Nearly a decade later, after hundreds of games, when Embiid can rip off 20 in just a single quarter, the payoff is sweeter than anyone could have expected.

“For a city to be rewarded for a player that we all understand has special gifts and play like he played, the city deserves it,” Brown said after Embiid's debut. “Most importantly, he deserves it.”