Joel Embiid proved Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal had reason to criticize his play in a win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, as the TNT analysts demanded more than a 22-point, 10-rebound effort from the dominant 7-foot center.

The Philadelphia 76ers star wasted no time, pounding a 38-point, 13-rebound, six-assist effort on Thursday, taking down the Boston Celtics in the first game of a TNT doubleheader — proving the two NBA legends right and thanking them for it.

“For them to say that I have the potential to be the best player in the world, and I haven't shown that, and I should let it be shown, that says a lot,” Joel Embiid said after a 115-109 win over the Celtics that put the Sixers a game above them in the East, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “They've been there, they've done it, they're Hall of Famers, so it just shows me I have to play harder and like I can.”

The Sixers big recognized he has struggled to play with the same passion he played with last season, thanking his teammates for being willing to feed him as well as he was willing to return the favor.

“I haven't been the closer that these guys needed me to be the whole season, and I just had that opportunity and they kept feeding me,” Embiid said. “I put that a lot on my teammates, because the whole game, they made a lot of shots, so it kind of put Boston where they had to choose between quickly double-teaming me, because I was going to kick it out and they all know I'm a willing passer, and we made them make shots, so that made it easier for me.”

Embiid's numbers are not far off from where they were last season, but he will need to establish himself more and more as the season goes on to never let his foot off the pedal as he has through the early stretch.