Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid gave a shout-out to his former general manager, Sam Hinkie, after the team clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference standings, Friday.
"Trust the Process... Sam Hinkie knew," Emiid said, echoing Hinkie's iconic motto.
Rich Hofmann of The Athletic reports that 76ers president Daryl Morey told Emiid to reference the quote.
"Being the top seed helps a lot from home-court advantage. Definitely helps a lot as we've been dominant at home. We barely lose here... So it means a lot to have the No. 1 seed," Embiid added.
Hinkie served as the 76ers GM from 2013-16 and was a fierce supporter of advanced statistics. He was often accused of "tanking" to receive better draft picks.
Head coach Doc Rivers, who joined Philadelphia at the start of the season, described the accomplishment as "part of what you can get on the way to what you want."
"It's an accomplishment. I don't want to downplay it, but I told our guys to enjoy, I don't want to call it a moment, I told them to enjoy the second, because it's not what we want, but it's part of what you can get on the way to what you want," Rivers said after the game.
[Via]