Jaylen Brown's Viral Joel Embiid Comments Resurface After 76ers Eliminate Celtics From NBA Playoffs

Comments made by Jaylen Brown about Joel Embiid on a livestream earlier this season resurfaced after the Boston Celtics star criticized Embiid following Saturday night's Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brown told reporters after the Celtics' 109-100 loss that Embiid had been unfairly drawing fouls.

"He's a big body. He also was flopping around," Brown said Saturday. "He got some extra calls, and stuff like that, and they rewarded him for that. But that's the league that we're in."

That wasn't the first time this postseason Brown has criticized Embiid, who led the Sixers with 34 points in Saturday night's win over a Celtics team missing Jayson Tatum to knee soreness.

Brown said in an April 19 livestream the Sixers had made their push to the playoffs "all without Embiid," who missed most of the final month of the regular season.

"I think, personally, they're maybe a little better without Embiid, I'm not sure... so we'll see if the big fella comes back, but I think they've been doing a good job," Brown said before the series.

The Celtics grabbed an early 2-1 series lead over a Sixers team missing Embiid to recovery from an emergency appendectomy.

Embiid returned for Game 4, then helped the Sixers win three straight must-win contests in order to advance to face the New York Knicks in the second round.

That run was highlighted by an often physical defensive matchup between Embiid and Brown, although the two players ultimately shared an embrace after the Celtics' Game 7 loss.

Philadelphia's hopes of making it past the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals now hinge in large part on Embiid, who was limping after taking contact from Tyrese Maxey late in Saturday's win.

The Sixers will hope to get good news about Embiid's health before the second round tips off at 8 p.m. ET Monday night at Madison Square Garden.