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76ers' Joel Embiid Crowned Hardest to Guard by Warriors' Standout

Draymond Green gave Joel Embiid extra motivation on Friday night.
Justin Grasso|
76ers' Joel Embiid Crowned Hardest to Guard by Warriors' Standout
76ers' Joel Embiid Crowned Hardest to Guard by Warriors' Standout

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Philadelphia 76ersGolden State Warriors

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid could be on his way to winning the MVP award for the first time in his career. For the third-straight season, the big man is in a race for the hardware competing alongside Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who beat out Embiid for MVP over the last two years.

Players, coaches, and fans all have their opinions on who’s the better big. While Golden State Warriors star, Draymond Green, recently considered Embiid the deserving winner of this year’s MVP award, a different comment he made before apparently fueled Joel Embiid’s standout performance against the Warriors on Friday night.

Following the game, Green revealed what Embiid said to him.

"He said, 'You know why I played like that tonight? You said Jokić was the hardest player to guard in the league. So I took that personal,' " said Green.

With a sprinkle of motivation from the opposition, Embiid had another dominant performance on the road. In nearly 38 minutes of action, the big man shot 13-23 from the field and went 19-22 from the free throw line. 

Embiid scored a game-high of 46 points, exceeding 40 points in a game for the 12th time this year.

In addition to his high scoring, Embiid dished out eight assists and grabbed nine rebounds while picking up two steals and a block. After his impressive showing on Friday night, Green claims he’s changed his mind. 

"So I want to tell you all, Joel is the hardest guy in the league," said Green.

Although Embiid’s night was dominant, his team came up short of the win. With a 41-point performance in the fourth quarter, the Warriors rallied from an 11-point deficit and put the Sixers away 120-112. 

Philly didn’t get the win, but it seems Embiid got a consolation as he’s now crowned the hardest guy to guard in the league by one of the NBA’s most respected defenders.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_. 

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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