Joel Embiid is feeling good again.
The Philadelphia 76ers center has been playing more frequently, leading him to get back to having more fun on social media, posting his own highlights with a “Troel Embiid” twist on the captions.
His latest was cryptic in a way. In a slideshow of stills, which was headlined by Embiid’s stare-down aimed at Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun, Embiid posted the caption as “Furk…..”
The immediate thought goes to Embiid’s former Sixers teammate, Furkan Korkmaz.
But what did it all mean?
Making Sense of Joel Embiid’s Cryptic Post…
It turns out Embiid decided to shout out/take a shot at Korkmaz, who crowned Sengun as the best center in the game back in September. Erin Grugan of Liberty Ballers pointed out the old quote:
Via @eringrugan: Former Sixers’ player Furkan Korkmaz said back in Sept. 2025: “Until now I thought Joel Embiid was the best player, best center I was playing with, but I think we can tell it’s Alperen Sengun now.” Embiid just posted his staredown of Sengun with the caption “Furk…” on IG
There’s no doubt Sengun has quickly developed into one of the top centers in the NBA. At the time of Kokrmaz’s comments, Embiid was at an all-time low in his career. He was recovering from a second surgery in under two years. Nobody knew if he could get back to playing at an All-Star level.
Embiid might not crack the All-Star team this year, but you can’t debate his status as one of the best bigs in the game still. In 24 games, Embiid is averaging 24.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. That’s after what you would deem a slow start too.
Clearly, Korkmaz lit a fire under the big man. Against Houston, Embiid checked in for a season-high 45 minutes. He registered a triple-double with 32 points, 10 assists, and 15 rebounds. The Sixers won 128-122.
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