Joel Embiid has spent the past few seasons carrying the Philadelphia 76ers on his back. He has continued to do so this season, though he now has James Harden to help him out. With a solid supporting cast around them, the Sixers are looking to finally break into title contention.

Embiid told Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix that he doesn't really want to get into discussing the Sixers' title hopes. His reasoning is that he has felt positive about it in years past bu ultimately came up well short. The MVP candidate pointed to last year's squad as a prime example.

“I can’t really answer that,” he says. “Because I felt the same way with the previous teams that we had because I believe in myself and the team so much. And even looking back, I still believe that if everybody would’ve played at their potential last year, we could have made at least the conference finals.”

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That answer seems like a pretty clear shot at Ben Simmons. Even though Embiid doesn't mention any of his teammates by name and Simmons wasn't the only Sixers player to disappoint in last year's playoffs, his failures in the Eastern Conference Semifinals underscored his lack of development and inability to be a true co-star on a championship-caliber team. It led to one of the murkiest offseason in the team's history and endless drama during this season.

Embiid said that he doesn't have any hard feelings towards Simmons but still made sure to chime in with a hilarious troll when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. With Harden now on the Sixers, Embiid's focus is squarely on bringing a title to Philadelphia.