Joel Embiid decided Monday night to post a photo on Instagram of him shushing Sixers fans, with the caption, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
It was a quote Jimmy Butler knew well.
In an interview Saturday with NBA TV at All-Star Weekend in Chicago, Butler said that was the motivation for his comment on Embiid's post. The two will be teammates again on Team Giannis in Sunday's All-Star Game.
"To me, Joel Embiid, he's not a 76ers player, "Butler said. "That's my brother, that's my guy. I went through the trenches with him. It has nothing to do with that. But, because I did comment, it damn near broke the Internet. I posted the caption first. … I did that in Minnesota, and so that's why I commented."
There you have it.
Philadelphia 76ers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Embiid, of course, aimed to clarify his social media posts on Tuesday.
"If you boo and someone is going to shush you, you've gotta be OK with it," he said. "It's all love. I understand where [the fans are] coming from, but I do know that they've got my back."
Butler, who's set to play in his fifth All-Star Game, also touched again on leaving the Sixers for the Heat this offseason in a sign-and-trade.
"I don't think anybody owes me an apology," he said. "It is what it is. I guess at some point in time, stuff tends to get out. But I guess I'm not the bad guy after all."
He sounded very confident about the prospect of facing the Sixers in the playoffs. Miami is 35-19 and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games ahead of the Sixers.
"I think that our team can match up with that team well," Butler said. "Keep those problems over there and we'll get y'all in the playoffs - we're gonna win."
You can watch Butler's full NBA TV interview below.
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
