NBA fans were treated to a marquee matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Among the intriguing elements was the primetime showdown between two of the NBA's most promising, young big men in budding superstars Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Needless to say, Embiid ultimately got the better of Towns both on and off the court as the two exchanged jabs on Instagram following the Sixers 118-112 win. According to Rich Hofmann of The Athletic, “The Process” made sure to clarify his end of the social media spat:
“Man, I don't know. Like I said before, I don't ever start things. Things just come to me and I just go with the flow. I just posted a pic, I felt like we got a great win on the road last night. I had a great Euro step, so ‘We were Euro stepping out way through Minnesota and we ended up raising the cat.' “I don't know if he understood the meaning of actually raising the cat. Maybe he thought it was about him. Raising the cat is basically when we win a game. You got to raise the cat. I guess he thought it was about him. He made a comment, and they call me ‘Tro-el' Embiid so I don't let things go by. So I just felt like that needed a reaction from me. I thought I had a pretty good comeback.”
“I'm just having fun out there,” Embiid said. “Social media is a way for me to express myself. Off the court, we're friends and stuff. On the court, I want to kick his a–, but it's all fun.”
Embiid has become notorious for his trash talk even prior to the 2017-18 NBA season. Only now, he has been able to back it up with his dynamic play on the court.
Such was the case in this matchup with Towns. Embiid finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and fell just two assists shy of a triple-double. He capped the effort by hitting a clutch pair free-throws to send the game into overtime after being fouled by Towns.
As cryptic as Embiid may want to be, it is clear that he was taking a shot at the “Big KAT”. However, he is adamant that it was just some friendly competition between two close friends.
