Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are ready for a new battle in Round 2 of the NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks. Even though the Boston Celtics had no answer to the Process in the final few games, the Knicks have Karl-Anthony Towns, who will give stiff competition. And this rivalry of bigs is not new.
How did the Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid rivalry take shape?
There isn’t an origin point for this high-profile rivalry, but it slowly took shape after the two centers came to the league. Joel Embiid was drafted third overall in 2014 by the 76ers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves chose Karl-Anthony Towns as the top overall pick in 2015. Both centers were versatile bigs and were highly anticipated when they came to the NBA, but had different personalities.
While Embiid was explosive and garnered a lot of attention for trolling other centers on social media, Towns’ entry was quieter. However, the rivalry was cooking, as their battles in the post were heated, physical, and full of trash-talk. It all boiled over in 2019.
During a regular-season game between the Wolves and the 76ers on October 30, the two centers got tied up over the developing physical battles between Towns and Embiid. The 76ers center got Towns’ hand hooked in the third quarter, which quickly turned into a wrestling match between the two. Towns had his hands around Embiid’s neck, and the altercation brought together players, coaching staff, and a lot of other officials.
Both Towns and Embiid were ejected from the game, while the then-Wells Fargo Center crowd cheered for their player. Meanwhile, Towns wasn’t having any more of Embiid’s social media trolls. He decided to give the 2022-23 NBA MVP the taste of his own medicine. He went ahead and shared the images of the tussle between the two and wrote on X:
“I aIN’t nO BiTcH
RaiSeD ARoUnD LiOnS”
Given that Madison Square Garden is one of the loudest arenas in the NBA, there is no doubt that they will stand behind KAT when Joel Embiid takes the floor against him once again. Time will tell how that rivalry will pan out this time around.
Joel Embiid might face the heat at Madison Square Garden
Joel Embiid knows how Knicks fans go about their business, and hence he has already requested Philly’s followers to come in big numbers for the home game at Xfinity Mobile Center. He referred to their last matchup with the Knicks, in which the home arena for Philly felt like “Madison Square Garden East.”
The Philly center even offered to take care of the ticket cost. Talking after the 76ers’ Game 7 win against the Celtics, Embiid said:
“We’re gonna need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. You know, this is bigger than you… Some people need money and are probably gonna sell tickets, but don’t do it, we need you guys, we gotta put it to chance, we gonna need that support, we gonna need them to be extremely loud.”
The rivalry has faded away, and so has the physicality. However, it will be a game of nerves for both sides, especially for the Sixers in the initial games at MSG. Towns is already under pressure after the criticism about his game this season, while Embiid is high on confidence after creating history in Round 1.
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