Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has taken some heat during the team's underwhelming 2019-20 season for not always seeming completely locked in. The Sixers All-Star acknowledged a degree of dejection after the team lost key wing players Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick last summer.

Via NBC Sports Philadelphia:

“During the season I was not myself,” Embiid said on Redick's The Old Man and the Three podcast. “I just wasn’t comfortable. The offense wasn’t the same, basketball was not the same to me. The way things happened last summer, it was just so frustrating, so I was kind of mad at the whole world and I was just like, ‘Eh, whatever. I’m just coming to work and I’m going to do my best,’ but I wasn’t playing up to my standards.”

Embiid noted that while the team remained staunch defensively, the offense “just wasn't there” without Redick and Butler providing shooting and pick-and-roll ability.

The big man also discussed his occasionally rocky relationship with Sixers fans (he's not the first):

“From last summer going into this season, not being myself, not dominating as I usually do — there was just no passion. I just played without it…And then, finally, when I decided to react because they booed me, I shushed them and they got mad…”

Still, Embiid says he has love for the Sixers faithful:

“That’s just passion. They understand me…They just want a winner and they just want a championship. You’ve just gotta play hard and push yourself, always give it 100 percent.”

Embiid infamously shushed Sixers fans for booing earlier this season:

Despite the surgery to All-Star Ben Simmons, Embiid still believes his Sixers “can win the whole thing.” Philadelphia is currently No. 6 in the Eastern Conference with a 42-28 record, and Embiid is dealing with an ankle injury.