Joel Embiid couldn't help but get a thought out as he watched the Celtics defeat the Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals to put themselves one win away from an NBA title.
The 76ers star took to X with a simple message that caught the attention of over two million people on the social media platform.
"Did the bucks give them the championship?" Embiid wrote.
Did the bucks give them the championship?
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 13, 2024
What did Embiid mean by this tweet? The Sporting News breaks it down below.
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Joel Embiid tweet, explained
Embiid was alluding to Milwaukee trading guard Jrue Holiday to Portland for Damian Lillard just weeks before the start of the 2023-24 season.
At the time, the Bucks felt like Lillard was the missing piece to get Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. back to the NBA Finals. Instead, four days later, Holiday was re-routed from Portland to Milwaukee's biggest roadblock in the Eastern Conference— the Celtics.
Boston acquired Holiday from the Trail Blazers in a move that solidified a championship-caliber core. With Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, the Celtics now had the best top-six players in the league on paper.
Fast forward nine months and Holiday has been one of Boston's best players on its run to the NBA Finals. He has come up with countless clutch stops, he's shot the lights out from 3-point range and he has brought the championship DNA the Celtics have needed to get over the hump.
Through three games of the NBA Finals, Holiday is averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steals on .594/.417/1.000 shooting splits — all while shutting down All-Star guard Kyrie Irving in Games 1 and 2.
Embiid has been watching from afar since the 76ers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. It's clear the MVP center isn't too happy with how the Bucks' mistake could turn into a Celtics championship.
You can find the details for each of the blockbuster preseason trades below.
Revisiting Bucks trade for Damian Lillard
Bucks receive:
- Damian Lillard
Trail Blazers receive:
- Jrue Holiday
- Deandre Ayton
- Toumani Camara
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2028 unprotected swap rights
- 2030 unprotected swap rights
Suns receive:
- Jusuf Nurkic
- Grayson Allen
- Nassir Little
- Keon Johnson
Revisiting Celtics trade for Jrue Holiday
Celtics receive:
- Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive:
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Robert Williams III
- 2024 first-round pick (via Warriors)
- 2029 first-round pick
