Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night with a chance to bolster their claim as the best team in the league, or at least, the Eastern Conference, with the two powerhouses boasting an 8-2 record entering the contest. In the end, the Sixers did not have the two-way firepower to overcome the Celtics' balanced attack, losing 117-107 to their archnemesis.

The Celtics managed to beat the Sixers even though they were without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, which goes to show just how dangerous they can be, especially at full strength. Of course, the Sixers were on the second night of a back-to-back, which put them in a tough position with regards to taking home a win on Wednesday night.

Nevertheless, Joel Embiid recognized how lethal the Celtics are, even calling them the “best team in the league”, which may not sit well with Sixers fans.

“But we're professional athletes. That's the schedule, we just got to do it. Yeah, tough, especially playing Indiana twice, and then on a back-to-back, playing the best team in the league. It's tough. But you know, no excuses. We still have to be better. I have to be better,” Embiid told reporters, via Celtics on NBC Sports.

It seems like no one in the NBA respects the Celtics more than Joel Embiid does. After all, Embiid does not have the best history coming up against the Sixers' Atlantic Division rival. In 2018, after the Celtics defeated the Sixers in the second round of the playoffs, Embiid even admitted that there was no rivalry between the two teams because Boston always kicked Philadelphia's behind.

In 2020, the Sixers were on the receiving end of a sweep from the Celtics during the Orlando bubble, and then during the most recent edition of the playoffs, the Celtics also overcame the Sixers in a seven-game series, with Embiid and former co-star James Harden disappearing when the team needed them the most.

Joel Embiid is never shy in running his mouth. But the Celtics appear to be exempt from his brash ways, especially when they're the hill the Sixers simply can't climb over.