Embiid taking advantage of stardom: 'Having fun is another way to dominate'
LOS ANGELES - Few players have endeared themselves to NBA fans over the last couple years quite like Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, a millennial darling whose All-Star-caliber game has been matched only by his status as a social-media legend.
Whether it was recruiting LeBron James via Twitter just after being drafted by Philadelphia in 2014; roasting fellow bigs like Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and Karl-Anthony Towns; posterizing Russell Westbrook and then deeming the result a crime scene on Instagram; or comically pursuing Rihanna's love, Embiid has quickly become Basketball Twitter's MVP.
Embiid's larger-than-life personality has ruffled some feathers among those who feel he needs more than 75 career games under his belt before running his mouth. Ask the 23-year-old Cameroonian, though, and he'll tell you the adversity and tragedy he overcame just to get to those 75 games fuels his desire to cherish every opportunity for a laugh.
"I missed two years, I lost my brother, so one thing I told myself when I came back was I just needed to have fun," Embiid told theScore on Friday in Los Angeles.
Embiid's 13-year-old brother, Arthur, died in a 2014 car accident in Cameroon while Joel was sidelined by a foot injury that kept him off an NBA court until 2016. Then, as a rookie, he was limited to just 31 games due to a torn meniscus.
"Just go out there and have fun," Embiid reiterated. "Social media (off the court), on the court, you know it's all about having fun and taking care of business.
"And for me, having fun means dominating on the court, kicking someone's ass. Having fun is another way for me to dominate the game. If I'm frustrated, usually it doesn't go well."
Embiid's sophomore season, on the other hand, is going quite well. He's averaging 23.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks for the surging, young 76ers, who are in position to end a six-year playoff drought - with more wins at the All-Star break (30) than they've totaled in any full season over the last four years.
In addition, Embiid will be one of the most visible faces during the league's marquee weekend - in its starriest location. He'll take part in Friday's Rising Stars Challenge, Saturday's Skills Challenge, and the All-Star Game itself on Sunday.
Just don't expect that to help his case with Rihanna after Embiid joked he was moving on from her in a now infamous January postgame interview.
"First of all, I never said my celebrity crush was Rihanna, so y'all got to leave her alone," Embiid quipped Friday during his Rising Stars media session. "I feel kind of bad for her, because after the interview when I got named an All-Star, everybody was mentioning her.
"I'm not gonna say who my celebrity crush is. I like to keep that kind of stuff quiet. I like to do my best, show what I do on the court. I'm gonna make it big and I'm gonna talk a lot, but other than that, my love life, no one's ever gonna know about it. I'll keep it to myself."
If he continues to provide Philadelphia with transcendent production on the court and the rest of the NBA world with legendary content off of it, no one will mind giving him that little bit of privacy.