It may have been the first game of the NBA, but the theatrics were in mid-season form when Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart got tangled up.
Embiid pulled down a rebound during the third quarter of the game against the Celtics, and Smart then appeared to trip the big man. Once he got up, the refs had to separate the two teams to avoid a potential altercation.
After the game, Boston’s Jaylen Brown told reporters that he thought Embiid was “trying to hurt” Smart during the dispute. Smart said that he “could have cracked [Embiid’s] head open” but decided against it.
If that sounds dramatic, it is worth remembering that Embiid and Smart have a rocky past that dates back many years now. In fact, the first time Embiid ever posted on Instagram was to post a photo of himself dunking on Smart:
Joel Embiid’s first ever Instagram post (January 24th, 2014) was him dunking on Marcus Smart with the caption “Not very SMART to jump on that one” 😂
This beef runs deep pic.twitter.com/t0SrykRQHI
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) October 19, 2022
My colleague, Andrew Joseph, summarized what happened between Embiid and Smart when their two collegiate teams played against each other in 2014:
“The Jayhawks — ranked No. 15 at the time — were taking on ninth-ranked Oklahoma State in the most anticipated Allen Fieldhouse game since the final Border War meeting.
That’s because the year earlier, Oklahoma State pulled off a rare win at Allen Fieldhouse that Smart celebrated with a backflip on Kansas’ court. By the 2013-14 season, that was all Kansas fans and players could talk about when it came to Marcus Smart and Oklahoma State. They wanted payback.
For Embiid, this would serve as his breakout game. The freshman center put up 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks. Referees had to break up several mini-scuffles in the game, and Embiid dunked all over Smart as Kansas won.
After the game, Embiid — who was already awesome at social media at the time — took to Instagram and mocked Smart about the dunk.”
So when Embiid and Smart had a skirmish on Tuesday, this was nothing new. It also wasn’t the only team these players have butted heads with one another during their pro careers.
Little tussle between Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart. Two with a little history going back to their college days.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 19, 2022
Embiid kicked Smart in the groin during a gamer back in 2018. He also liked multiple tweets about botched calls involving Marcus Smart during the 2018 postseason.
Then, after bumping into each other during a possession, Smart shoved Embiid to the floor during a game in March 2019. He was ejected and fined $50,000 for his role in the altercation. Smart said he would “do it over again” if he could because he was protecting himself.
Smart has since complained that Embiid “flails” on offense to draw foul calls from the referees, which is an allegation that the big man laughed off.
While these two are not two players who like each other very much, there is hope for them to reconcile their differences. Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley also have beef that extends back many years. Now that they are teammates, it is going great!
