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Despite dealing with devastating injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid has quickly risen the upper echelon of big men in the NBA. He combines his massive frame with a grace and skill rarely seen in players with so little experience, and can protect the rim and hit threes too.
Not only is Embiid one of the league’s most intriguing rising stars on the court, he’s a larger-than-life personality who talks trash and shoots his shot. His Twitter is a carefully curated stream of callouts, friendly taunts, and declarations of his trust in the process.
After the Warriors’ comeback win against the 76ers on November 18th, Joel Embiid posted about his matchup with Draymond Green, one of the best defenders in the league. He also poked fun at the Warriors, pointing out they intimately know what blowing a lead (the 2016 Finals) is like.
Now we know what it feels like to blow a big lead.. Gotta stay focused to get the job done. Great learning lesson and I also love playing against Draymond #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/hGGQN1SH73
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) November 19, 2017
Gotta play for 48 mins... The warriors are amazing though #TheProcess
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) November 19, 2017
On Wednesday, Green finally responded to Embiid, opting to save the trash talk for the court. There’s clearly some mutual respect between the two.
looking forward to playing against you for years my man. Fun times https://t.co/I2YlSfyFXg
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) November 22, 2017
Draymond Green as he’s getting ready to respond to Joel Embiid’s latest classic jab: “He’s f***ing hilarious. Man, I love that dude.” pic.twitter.com/Zr1ahZi7q6
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 22, 2017
Is this a sign that Embiid will be a Warrior someday? Probably not, but it’s nice to know the Warriors are making friends around the league. At the very least, Embiid can do us a favor and knock LeBron James out of the playoffs for us.
Green and Embiid, two of the most notorious trash-talkers in the league, are similar dudes who love getting into opponents’ heads. The fact that they admire each other is as sweet and cute a friendship as any you’ll find in the NBA.