Sunday was the end of the road for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2025-26 season. The Knicks finished them off in Game 4 of the second round, winning 144-114. They completed a clean sweep.
Joel Embiid put up 24 points in that final game, but it wasn’t enough. The loss itself was painful for 76ers fans, but what shocked fans even more was what Embiid said after the game.
NBA Analyst’s Latest Comment Regarding Joel Embiid
During the postgame interview after Game 4, Embiid stated that despite being swept out of the tournament, he thinks this run was a success.
“I know we lost, and I know that’s not the right mentality to have, but for me, this was a success. I came into this year not knowing where I was going to be, how long I was going to play.”
“If I was even going to play based on how the knee was the last two years, and I came in hoping for the best,” Embiid said during the postgame interview.
Fans on social media were confused about how a season ending in a second-round sweep could possibly be viewed positively. Now, the discussion has become even bigger after comments made by Skip Bayless during a recent episode of “Gil’s Arena.”
Bayless, who appeared as a guest on the show, strongly criticized Embiid’s mindset and even called the comments “offensive” to the 76ers fanbase.
“Nobody wants to hear it. It’s offensive to Sixers fans. But that’s been his mentality from the start. Winning has always been second on the list. Maybe third. He wants to make money number one,” Bayless said during the segment.
Gil’s Arena reacts to Joel Embiid calling this past season a success for Philly 👀
“Nobody wants to hear it. It’s offensive to Sixers fans. But that’s been his mentality from the start. Winning has always been 2nd on the list.” @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/kzc5lWJnT8
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) May 13, 2026
According to Bayless, money comes first for Embiid.
Back in September 2024, Embiid signed a three-year, $192.9 million maximum contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers. That deal kicks in this coming offseason.
In the 2025-26 season alone, Embiid earned an annual salary of $55.2 million (as per Spotrac). So when Bayless says winning is second on the list, and the money is first, the contract figures give that argument a lot of weight.
But the question is, why would Embiid even call this a success after getting swept? The only answer that makes any real sense points directly to his health.
This season, Embiid played in just 38 regular-season games. He started the year already on a minutes restriction and couldn’t play in back-to-back games. He was mostly available through December and January, but then missed five games in February due to shin soreness that developed during his knee management program.
Again in March, a right oblique strain kept him out for 13 straight games. He managed to play in five of the next seven, but then his regular season was cut short by emergency appendix surgery.
He returned for Game 4 of the first-round series against the Celtics and was mostly available throughout the Knicks series, except for Game 2, when he sat out with a right ankle sprain and hip soreness.
So while the season ended badly for Philadelphia, Embiid may simply view the fact that he managed to stay healthier than last year as a personal victory. Last season, he appeared in only 19 games because of ongoing knee problems. This year, he nearly doubled that number.
But whether that framing is fair to the fans or the team is a completely different conversation, and clearly, not everyone (including Bayless) is willing to give him that pass.
