The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics have been rivals for decades and decades. From the battles between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to the literal fight between Julius Erving and Larry Bird to now, the blood has always run hot between the Sixers and Celtics. For the past few years, Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart have been the two players that have defined their teams' rivalry. The two have a lot of history with one another.

As Secret Base's Joe Ali chronicled last year in the YouTube channel's series “Beef History,” Embiid and Smart have a long history of squabbling that dates back to college. Embiid's first-ever Instagram post was a trolling jab at Smart after he dunked on him in a Kansas-Oklahoma State game.

Once they were each selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, their animosity toward one another did not cool down. Throughout the years, the two have gotten physical with each other often. Both of them play with a fearless mentality and always bring their A-games when they go head-to-head. And whenever there's extracurricular contact, there's always the potential for a scuffle.

The most notable incident between Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart came in Philadelphia on March 20, 2019. Smart, after taking an elbow on a screen Embiid, shoved him to the ground when his back was turned to him, which got him ejected. Embiid got hit with a tech in the Sixers' win and called the shove a “cheap shot” after the game.

It's no shocker that the 2022-23 NBA season opener featured a Joel Embiid-Marcus Smart incident. Near the start of the third quarter, Embiid and Smart went for a rebound at the same time. Embiid got two hands on the rock and ripped it away from Smart, whose arm got caught in Embiid's. After falling to the ground, Smart grabbed Embiid's ankle, causing him to slip. Refs and teammates separated them before there was any more physicality.

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After the game, Smart said that he decided not to fight Embiid and claimed he tried to break his arm. Neither player is afraid to speak their mind about the other, especially after they face off. In January of 2021, Smart was critical of Embiid's playstyle, accusing him of flopping to get calls after a game in which he shot more free throws than the entire team. Smart, though, had done the same thing in that very game. The two exchanged words afterward before heading to their respective benches.

While Embiid and Smart are clear rivals, Smart has the upper hand in terms of success. They have faced off 25 times on the NBA court and Smart's squad has won 17 of them, including two playoff series victories. Their first playoff series, a conference semifinals matchup in 2018, ended in a Celtics gentleman's sweep. Then in the first round of 2020, Boston swept a shorthanded Philadelphia team. The Celtics have made four Eastern Conference Finals appearances with Smart, including the NBA Finals last year, as the Sixers search for their first ECF berth with Embiid.

With the Sixers boasting perhaps the deepest team of the Joel Embiid era, this could be the year that he truly gets the best of Marcus Smart and the Celtics. The season opener told a different story, though, so the rivalry between teams and their two key players should not slow down any time soon.