Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid sees the bubble environment in Orlando as a unique opportunity for his team to bond. After Saturday's practice, Sixers head coach Brett Brown said Embiid was preaching chemistry while the team is quarantined at Disney World, according to Serena Winters of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Brown said he and his All-Star center “talked a lot” about developing more cohesion with his teammates:
“He was the one that brought it to me, saying, ‘absolutely,'” Brown said. “It’s hard to explain sort of the forced camaraderie, forced — because of the environment — togetherness. You really don’t have anybody else.”
The Sixers star's emphasis on team-building while in Florida is a shift in tone from his sentiments before heading to the bubble:
“I’m not too worried about not being able to be with each other at all times. I won’t lie, I’m not that type of guy. I’m more reserved,” he said. “All I want to do is play video games. I don’t want to be going out.”
But the Sixers coach praised Embiid embracing the opportunity to spend more time with his teammates:
“Joel, we all understand, he comes in, he brings it, he practices or has a game and then he goes home. And there are a lot of players that are like that…this environment here I just think is surreal in the fact that you’ve got no choice. Here you are, with each other, and I love it. I love it, and I think our guys have most importantly appreciated each other’s company.”
Philadelphia (39-26) opens up its seeding games on Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.
You can catch glimpses of Embiid and the rest of the Sixers around the Disney facility in rookie Matisse Thybulle's fantastic “Welcome to the Bubble” vlog series.
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