Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was on a warpath on Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs, clearly motivated by his matchup against the next big thing, 20-year old rookie Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama may have a bright future ahead of him, but Embiid cemented the fact that there are levels to superstardom in the NBA and the Spurs rookie isn't quite on his level yet.
The 76ers star dropped a career-high 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds and five assists en route to a 133-123 victory, and in doing so, the reigning MVP set some impressive records that put in perspective how historic his performance on Monday night against the Spurs was.
Joel Embiid became just the second player in NBA history to record at least 65 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a single game, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to do so. Jordan, as one would recall, dropped a career-best 69 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1990, and for the 76ers star to tally numbers that only the arguable greatest player of all time has tallied in a single game is nothing short of phenomenal.
With that said, Embiid now has the first 70/15/5 game in NBA history, as per StatMuse; there have only been 14 instances in NBA history where a player has scored 70 or more (including the 76ers star's latest masterpiece), and this achievement just goes to show one of a kind Embiid is in the stat-sheet stuffing department.
The record setting does not end there for Embiid. After securing his 69th and 70th points on the night with a driving layup over Keldon Johnson, the reigning MVP set the 76ers franchise record for most points scored in a single game. Given how many scoring legends the 76ers have in its illustrious history (Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, just to name a few), this is no mean feat for the 29-year old superstar.
Joel Embiid is in MVP form, and when he is on this kind of a roll, there is simply no stopping him. He moves so fluidly for his size, he can play bully ball, and he gets to the foul line with ease. There may be no scarier team to face in the NBA when Embiid's got in going like this.