Inside Sixers: Joel Embiid’s waiting game, T.J. McConnell honors Damar Hamlin and more behind-the-scenes moments from the week

Joel Embiid leaned over Shake Milton’s shoulder to lock in on the 76ers guard’s cellphone as it streamed the final minutes Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point outburst Monday night.

“Best game of the season,” said Embiid, who less than two months ago put up an eye-popping 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks in a win over the Utah Jazz.

“Oh, we know what Joel’s doing next game,” responded teammate Georges Niang.

“I had 59 in regulation,” Embiid countered. “I could have had freaking 70 in that game.”

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So even the players are marveling at the NBA’s seemingly never-ending string of stunning individual performances. Embiid, however, has not gotten the opportunity in the days since to prove if his playfully brash “challenge accepted” statement had any validity. He has missed the Sixers’ last two games with foot soreness, another snag in his team’s season-long quest to build rhythm with its full complement of players.

The Sixers went 2-1 last week, topping the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers before falling to the Chicago Bulls on Friday to halt their 11-game home winning streak. They will reach the regular season’s halfway point on Thursday, following a home-and-home series against the Detroit Pistons and a home date with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Until then, here are some scenes that defined the Sixers’ week.

T.J. McConnell is forever a fan favorite in Philly, as evidenced by the spectator who screamed, “I love you, T.J.!” from the stands after he made a layup during Wednesday’s Pacers loss to the Sixers.

Yet this return to the Wells Fargo Center carried even greater emotional weight. The former Sixers guard walked into the arena wearing the jersey of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed and nearly died from cardiac arrest after a hit during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hamlin, who has miraculously progressed in his recovery throughout last week, and McConnell are both from the Pittsburgh area.

“I just wanted to show support for a fellow Pittsburgh native and athlete,” McConnell said, according to the Pacers, “and let him and his family know that all of us here are thinking of him and praying for him.”

The terrifying on-field event occurred during the Sixers’ win over the Pelicans. Coach Doc Rivers opened his postgame press conference offering prayers to Hamlin, saying, “It’s tough when you see that in sports, or in anything.” It was also a topic among players in the Sixers’ locker room that night.

As Rivers sat down for his pregame news conference ahead of Friday’s loss to the Bulls, he asked how his high school alma mater, Proviso East in Maywood, Ill., was playing so far this season.

“10-2, 31st in the state,” said Chuck Swirsky, the Bulls’ radio play-by-play voice.

“31st?!” Rivers responded. “That’s a first. I’ll just say that. We’ll fix that.”

Rivers knew Swirsky, a Chicagoland Sports Hall of Famer still enjoying a decorated broadcasting career, was the correct person to field that question. Their relationship goes way back to when Swirsky was a young radio host, and Rivers joined the show as guest when he was the area’s high school co-player of the year.

“I saw Doc play in high school, and they were awesome,” Swirsky told the group during the news conference.

“… And Chuck’s old,” Rivers playfully responded.

Following the loss to the Bulls, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and his wife, Ellen, gathered with Chicago’s executive vice president of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas, for a chat outside the Bulls’ locker room.

That was not some sort of clue that a deal is imminent between the two teams. They are longtime friends and colleagues, working together with the Houston Rockets for five seasons.

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Karnisovas was an international scout with the Rockets before the Denver Nuggets hired him as assistant general manager in 2013. He was promoted to general manager four years later, then hired to run the Bulls in 2020.

Both executives have been aggressive at past trade deadlines. Morey pulled off the Ben Simmons-James Harden blockbuster last season, while Karnisovas traded for All-Star center Nikola Vucevic (who totaled 19 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists against the undersized Sixers on Friday night) the year before.