During the preseason finale against the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers rising star big man Joel Embiid went viral immediately following his trash talk to center Hassan Whiteside after he got in foul trouble guarding him in the game.
“Dude, they had to take your a** out or [you] would have fouled out in five minutes,” Embiid told Whiteside during that game.
All of that banter led to the two exchanging verbal jabs toward each on Twitter. During a recent interview with Jackie MacMullan of ESPN, Embiid went further in-depth into the growing rivalry between the two potential All-Star big men.
“It's a friendly league,” Embiid said. “I know when I'm talking trash I'm getting in their head, and they will do anything to stop me. They become very aggressive, and that's how I get them. I'm very good at drawing fouls.”
“You definitely have to back it up. I've been fortunate that I have the talent to do that. But I'm sure if I have an off night against Whiteside, I'll hear about it.”
Although Embiid is quite confident in his ability on the court, he is quite aware of all that comes with trash talking in the league. It can at times be a double-edged sword depending on his individual performance against a certain player on a given night.
There will certainly be much attention being directed to when the two play each other on Feb. 2, and the same could be said about his upcoming matchup against Andre Drummond on Dec. 2. This could very well work in his favor by getting in the heads of his opponents, but it is ultimately one of those wait and see moments moving ahead this season.
If anything else, it has created another storyline around Embiid that could further fuel what could be a stellar second campaign for him.
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