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Joel Embiid endeared himself to The City of Brotherly Love by doing something counterintuitive to its namesake. The Philadelphia 76ers center took on fellow 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns in a brawl that saw them both ejected in the third quarter, as Embiid heard the roar of the crowd in true wrestling fashion.
The 25-year-old was met with a wave of cheers and applause from the Wells Fargo Center fans who clamored for a Rocky-like bout between him and the Minnesota Timberwolves center:
Embiid is a legend pic.twitter.com/UVW9qcWdkq
— Justin Phan (@jphanned) October 31, 2019
Following his ejection, Embiid embraced the fans after his scuffle with Towns:
“I was built for this city and they were built for me,” said Embiid, according to Michael Lee of The Athletic. “I can’t thank them enough. I really appreciate all of the love. It’s crazy to have that type of reaction. It was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard them. I heard the MVP chants from the locker room.
“It’s great. That’s what the city of Philadelphia is all about. You’ve got to come in here, you’ve got to fight, you’ve got to play hard, you’ve got to be gritty. You’ve got to be a Broad Street Bully. That’s what it’s all about. We’re going to keep on fighting. And try to accomplish the goal we have set for us.”
Philly fans are among the most passionate in the country, and their love for blue-collar, mouthpiece-clenching attitudes is long-storied — making it no surprise they now flock to Joel Embiid now that he has shown the dog in him.
Both 7-footers, however, could face a multi-game suspension after this tiff, along with Ben Simmons, who held Towns in a chokehold before all players were separated by officials.
