The wife of former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelosingled out Sixers center Joel Embiid in a number of critical tweets sent from burner accounts, and the All-Star is using that as fuel during his preparations for the 2018-19 season.
During an interview with ESPN (h/t Pro Basketball Talk’s Dan Feldman), Embiid said the tweets by Barbara Bottini were “hurtful” but have led him to a renewed focus as he trains in the offseason:
“It was hurtful because of the stuff that was said in those tweets. But at the end of the day, I know who I am as a person, as a player. And I know a lot of people, they’re always telling me I’m great but I have a lot of stuff to work on. And actually, I appreciated everything that was said about me because if it was true—even if it wasn’t—that stays in my mind. And it makes me want to get better. The stuff where they were saying I wasn’t happy, that makes me want to work harder on my body. Or if they’re saying that I couldn’t do anything, it makes me want to work harder and get better. So, actually, I love it. I appreciated it. It was great. It was great for my game.”