Joel Embiid‘s reputation for being a pest has grown exponentially over the last few days. In no particular order…
- He made a 69 joke on live television, and when Jalen Rose said it was unprofessional, Embiid responded by going onto SportsCenter and making a joke that alluded to Rose guarding Kobe Bryant during his 81-point game.
- He baited Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell into picking up a technical foul.
- He made a very subtle 3-1 joke on Twitter, which received praise from Draymond Green.
- He called out LaVar Ball on Instagram after having a career night against the Lakers.
When asked about all of this, Embiid straight up said that he’s not worried about anyone retaliating, because he’s a “big dude” and doesn’t think anyone would want to fight him. If you’re on the other side of one of Embiid’s various attempts at provoking someone, it is probably very easy to get annoyed at the Sixers’ star big man.
LeBron James may end up on the other side of some pestering on Monday night, when Cleveland travels to take on Philadelphia. And for those who are angry at the trash talk Embiid throws down, he has a very simple question he wants answered: What are you going to do about it?
LeBron James on Joel Embiid's trash talk and on-court antics rubbing some people the wrong way: "Who cares? Who cares? What are you going to do about it? You’re going to fight him? Who cares? People are so sensitive."
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 27, 2017
LeBron is famous for never really getting into it with anyone, even when opponents try their hardest to provoke him — for proof, look at his recent run-in with Frank Ntilikina and Enes Kanter at Madison Square Garden. Embiid may try to get under his skin on Monday night, and he may pester LeBron to some extent. But odds are the Cavaliers’ star isn’t going to do anything in the event that this happens.
