Joel Embiid made Philadelphia 76ers franchise history Monday night when he scored 70 points during the 76ers' 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs — a performance that might be owed to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Prior to the game, when Popovich was asked what he was looking forward to the most about Embiid taking on the Spurs' young superstar, Victor Wembanyama, Popovich responded, "We're gonna hammer his a—!"
?WE?RE GONNA HAMMER HIS ASS!?
-Gregg Popovich on Wemby?s first matchup with Joel Embiid pic.twitter.com/2E1FHMcS3O
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) January 22, 2024
Popovich continued: "I told Wemby to stick him ... put your butt right in his stomach, back him down over the rim, and just throw him through the rim. That's what you can look forward to tonight. ... Don't tell Wemby I said that."
While Popovich was clearly kidding, the career-high 70 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and 21 free throws that Embiid made a few hours after Popovich's quip suggests that the reigning NBA MVP might have heard what the Spurs' legendary head coach had to say — and took the comments personally.
Joel Embiid tonight:
- 70 Points
- 18 Rebounds
- 5 Assists*Passes Wilt?s single game scoring franchise record
*The first 70/15/5 game ever
*9th player in NBA history to score 70+Best scoring big man of all-time
Back-to-back MVP incomingWE ARE ALL WITNESSES @JoelEmbiid pic.twitter.com/KYHQA6gz3z
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) January 23, 2024
Regardless of whether Embiid heard — or cared — about Popovich's pregame plan, Embiid's performance was amazing to witness. In addition to being his career high and setting the 76ers' franchise record for most points scored in a game, Embiid's final stat line was also just the second 65-point, 15-rebound and five-assist game in NBA history; the first was by Michael Jordan. It also made Embiid the ninth player in NBA history to score 70-plus points in a game.
What's more, the insane scoring output came on the 18-year anniversary of now-late legend Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. Given what we know about Embiid's longtime love for Bryant, this likely was more of a motivating factor for him to ball out than what Popovich had to say.
While Wembanyama (who was sized up by Embiid before the game began) also put together an excellent performance Monday night — with 33 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and going 11-of-12 on free throws — that stat line was obviously overshadowed by Embiid's monster evening.
Unfortunately for fans, Wemby and Embiid will rarely face off because they play in separate conferences. They will, however, play again once more this season: on Sunday, April 7, in San Antonio.
We'd imagine that Popovich will keep his a— hammering comments to himself before that one.
