Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid knew exactly how to commemorate his titanic 70-point performance on Monday night.
After dropping 70 on the San Antonio Spurs, Embiid’s teammates celebrated him in the locker room by giving him the silent treatment before going wild to highlight his surreal accomplishment.
Embiid also decided to pay tribute to one of the great basketball players of all time (and a Philadelphia great) in Wilt Chamberlain.
The 76ers standout held up a piece of paper with “70” written on it, nodding to the iconic photo of Chamberlain posing with the number 100 after his all-time 100-point performance for the then-Philadelphia Warriors in 1962.
Joel Embiid recreated Wilt Chamberlain's iconic photo pic.twitter.com/OnMPZRPW00
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) January 23, 2024
It was a historic night in the NBA as Embiid and Minnesota Timberwolves standout Karl-Anthony Towns both scored career and franchise highs on the 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81-point game.
It was also a night for Embiid where he accomplished something Chamberlain never did for Philly, which shocked Embiid himself.
"Wilt never did this?" 😯
Joel Embiid was in disbelief the great Wilt Chamberlain never recorded 65 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a game. pic.twitter.com/reU9wEGDPM
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 23, 2024
Embiid is one of the best players in the NBA for a reason, and his career-best performance against the Spurs further proved it.