Joel Embiid recorded his final dunk of the season, even though the 76ers were at home.
The 76ers center criticized the Bucks for trading away Jrue Holiday, who led the Celtics to one win away from their 18th NBA championship with Wednesday’s Game 3 win over the Mavericks.
Holiday is averaging 15.7 points in the NBA Finals and playing stellar defense.
“Did the Bucks give them a championship?” Embiid tweeted late Wednesday night. The Celtics beat the Mavs 106-99.
If the Bucks hadn’t traded Holiday for Damian Lillard last offseason, the Celtics probably wouldn’t be in the position they are in today.
After a first-round loss to the Heat in the 2023 playoffs, the Bucks decided they had a better chance of winning with Lillard rather than Holiday.
They sent Holiday to the Blazers in a three-team trade to acquire Holiday.
Holiday, who won a championship with the Bucks in 2021, has said he wants to retire in Milwaukee.
Then the Celtics came out of nowhere and took advantage of the situation, acquiring Holiday from the Blazers in exchange for two first-round draft picks and two players.
That cost seems so small, as Holiday could lead Boston to its first championship since 2008.
Holiday is averaging 13.1 points, six rebounds and 4.5 assists this postseason as Boston handily beat the Mavericks, 15-2.
The 34-year-old recorded a plus-27 rating in the NBA Finals, preventing Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving from winning the series.
He scored 26 points in Game 2 and added nine points in Dallas’ win on Wednesday at the American Airlines Center.
One can’t help but wonder if the Bucks made the wrong decision, as Holiday helped the Celtics, and their attempt to get back to the Finals may have actually helped another team’s championship bid.
Holiday performed well in Milwaukee, but without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks lost to a lower-seeded team in the first round for the second straight year.
While the trade didn’t directly impact Embiid, as the Knicks defeated the 76ers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, it’s clear he thinks the Celtics made a great trade and the Bucks missed out.
Boston could close out the series with Game 4 on Friday in Dallas.
