After the most dominant offensive performance of his career, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid sent shockwaves through the NBA.
Following a matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls, Suns superstar Kevin Durant had no idea about Embiid’s big night across the conference when he took the podium for a routine postgame press conference.
As a reporter wanted to ask about a high-scoring night across the league, which was headlined by Embiid’s career-high showing of 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs, Durant couldn’t believe what he heard.
“Seventy?” Durant said in shock. “He had seventy?
Durant then sat back with a big smile across his face as he soaked in the news.
The Phoenix superstar is no stranger to Embiid’s game. After all, the two were Atlantic Division rivals for a few years, as Durant’s last stop was with the Brooklyn Nets.
While Durant and Embiid were known to chirp at each other frequently on the court, both players made it clear that it was all in good fun due to their competitive nature, and there was a serious mutual respect for one another.
Durant’s reaction is totally understandable. While Embiid is a proven elite scorer at this stage in his career, leading the league in points per game for the third straight season, the big man shattered his single-game career-high on Monday, scoring 70 points to exceed his previous career-high of 59 points.
Now, Embiid holds the 76ers’ franchise record, surpassing the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. His 70-point showing is the highest scoring total in the NBA this season, beating out Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 64-point performance back in December
