Formula 1’s recent boom across the globe has brought with it a swathe of new fans to the sport, including the NBA’s MVP for the 2023 season, Joel Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers star is an avid follower of the travelling circus that is Formula 1, and often live blogs his thoughts during the Grands Prix that he is able to catch amid his busy 82-game regular season schedule.
As a regular on the 76ers’ injury list, it happens to be a fairly regular occurrence that he is able to tune into race weekends, and it appears as if Oscar Piastri has caught his eye as the preferred driver of the Cameroonian.
The Australian came mightily close to securing a maiden world title during the 2025 F1 season, but ultimately lost out to his McLaren counterpart, Lando Norris, who, in turn, claimed his first championship in the category instead.
Joel Embiid was not happy with McLaren’s team orders at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix
McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri shaking hands after the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
One of the biggest narratives during the title fight between McLaren’s star driver duo was the Woking-based outfit’s use of team orders.
Leadership figures Andrea Stella and Zak Brown tried to keep it as fair as possible for them throughout the campaign, but certain instances raised suspicions that they were favouring the Briton over his less experienced teammate.
The Italian Grand Prix was the most notable occurrence of McLaren’s interference in the finishing positions of their drivers.
After Norris suffered a slow pit stop and emerged back onto the track behind the then-championship-leading Piastri, they requested that the 24-year-old concede his track position to Norris in order to save face on their own mistake.
Embiid was furious at the time, tweeting to his following of over two million basketball fans, “These papaya rules are something else lmao… Oscar is a better man than me.”
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The incident ended up having crucial implications for the beneficiary of the swap following the conclusion of the season.
Norris ended up winning the title by just two points over Max Verstappen in the end. The number of points that he gained from the swap? Three.
Joel Embiid is certain that Oscar Piastri will be a world champion in Formula 1 one day
Piastri concluded the season third in the drivers’ championship. After leading the standings for 15 consecutive race weekends, a string of errors derailed his title challenge, and Verstappen was able to make up an immense amount of ground as a result.
If the Australian had been successful in his quest, a 2024 prediction from Embiid would have materialised into fact.
During Piastri’s second-ever Grand Prix victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that year, the 76ers star took to X (formerly Twitter) to say, “Oscar Piastri is a future world champion.”
After the celebrations had died down in Baku, Piastri found some time to send a hilarious response to Embiid’s claim, replying, “Not at basketball. Need a coaching session off you.”
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