Joel Embiid is an expert troller.
Whether he’s talking trash on the court, coming up with fire Instagram locations after a victory or dropping snarky gold on Twitter, he’s always going in on everyone who doesn’t play for the Philadelphia 76ers. I mean, Kevin Durant was excited the Golden State Warriors erased a huge lead to beat the Sixers just so Embiid couldn’t tweet about it for crying out loud. The big man’s legend isn’t just growing as a player; he’s earning his stripes as someone unafraid to get under the skin of his opponents.
Which brings up an interesting question: Is Embiid worried about his rivals eventually retaliating on the court, perhaps in a physical manner? Durant and Draymond Green may take pleasure in jawing with him and appreciate his snarky jabbering, but chances are Willie Reed and Hassan Whiteside and a crap ton of other players don’t feel the same way. Needle the wrong person, and Embiid could find himself in the middle of a feisty, if painful, if potentially dangerous, mid-game scrum.
But he doesn’t care.
As he said on SC6, per The Athletic’s Rich Hoffman:
Joel Embiid on if he's worried about retaliation for on-court trolling: "I'm 7'2" and I'm a big dude, so I don't think you want to try me. And I'm African too." (via #SC6) pic.twitter.com/NHbVAXx9zZ
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) November 22, 2017
Embiid has a point. He is a 7’2″ monster who dunks a basketball like it’s a tennis ball. Throwing down with him, no matter who you are, seems like a terrible idea.
And that’s assuming anyone would ever act on their rage—or that their ill will towards Embiid can even be described as such. Players understand the nature of the game, both on and off the court. Trash talk and sarcasm and social media burns are all part of it. Many of them relish in it. They might revel in the opportunity to clown Embiid right back.
If they don’t, well, he said it: He’s more than capable of holding his own—both on and off Twitter.
