Philadelphia 76ers' All-Star center Joel Embiid has never been one to bite his tongue, and that's especially true when it comes to this year's class of highly touted rookie big men. Just weeks ago, Embiid told ESPN's The Jump that Phoenix Suns' #1 overall pick, DeAndre Ayton, is "about to get his ass kicked this year." He added, "Don't compare me to Ayton either... I play DEFENSE."
While Embiid has yet to see Ayton on the court, he did get a chance to go head-to-head with another promising center, Mo Bamba, who was selected sixth overall by the Orlando Magic. Embiid finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the Sixers' 120-114 win, while Bamba had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists.
As he is one to do after games, Embiid took to instagram to share an image from his matchup with Bamba, along with the caption, "Like my ninja Mo... His skinny ass can't guard me @therealmobamba."
The 20-year old rookie quickly responded on IG with his own screenshot that makes it look like he's dunking on "The Process," though the footage in the video embedded below shows it was more of a contested layup than a posterizing jam.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1046909079455698944
Of course, Embiid jumped in the comment section of Bamba's post to defend himself, writing, "Bruh that's a block, layup ... whatever that is. You were bbq chicken on the post tonight. You had 4 fouls in 8 mins young fella. I would've fouled you out in 10. That's a welcome to the f league. Gotta learn how to guard without fouling. All love haha"
To that, Bamba replied, "fair enough. I'll back in the lab tmmr to work on it... until then enjoy the poster. I'll send it as a Christmas card as well."
Check out the friendly back-and-forth in the posts embedded below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Boahq3ElURt
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoaizZEF71W
https://twitter.com/_/status/1046991190166523904
