Joel Embiid on being Knicks fans' villain: 'New York is my favorite city in the world'

Joel Embiid says he loves New York despite being the villain for Knicks fans.

“It’s not hostile," Embiid said of the crowd at Madison Square Garden . "I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years. I just love New York. If I’ve got to be the punching bag and you hear a lot of ‘F Embiid,’ that’s ok. I love it.”

Knicks fans have been constantly chanting, "F**k Embiid" during the games in New York.

Earlier in the season, and even before that, there has been some chatter and speculation about the possibility of the Knicks trading for Embiid .

However, the seems extremely unlikely, as Embiid is under contract with Philadelphia through 2025-26 and has a player option in 2026-27. Embiid, from all accounts, appears to enjoy playing in Philadelphia and now has a co-star in 23-year-old Tyrese Maxey.

Daryl Morey and the Sixers have the second most cap space entering this offseason , as well.

Embiid, who struggled for the majority of Tuesday's Game 5 comeback win, finished the game strong coming up with huge plays on both ends of the court in overtime.

Embiid committed nine turnovers, but still managed to score 19 points, grab 16 boards and dish out 10 assists. And on the defensive end, Embiid came up huge in overtime and finished with four blocks. He became the first player since David Robinson and Tim Duncan to have a 15/10/10/5 playoff game .

Game 6 is back in Philadelphia on Thursday night at 9pm E.T.