‘Professional Hater’ Joel Embiid Makes Bold Statement on Social Media

Shortly after Tyrese Maxey represented the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2024 Skills Challenge at All-Star Weekend, the NBA held its annual dunk contest, which featured a former Sixer in the defending champion, Mac McClung.

As usual, the event generated a ton of discussions on X, and to no surprise, the self—proclaimed internet troll Joel Embiid offered his thoughts as the event progressed.

“I’m a professional hater, but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores,” Embiid wrote on X Saturday night. “Not sure the knees would allow it.”

I’m a professional hater but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores but not sure the knees would allow it lmao
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 18, 2024

Along with McClung, who represented the Orlando Magic’s G League squad, the Dunk Contest featured New York Knicks’ Jacob Toppin, Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez, and Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown.

While fans tuned in took a liking to some of the attempts put on by the players, there was surely more criticism about the lack of originality and creativity coming from the spectators than anything.

Yet, you wouldn’t be able to tell by the scoring.

The first round was a tight competition. Jaquez came in fourth, scoring a 94.2 overall. Toppin was right in front of him with a 95. Brown made it to the final round after gaining a 96.4 score, while McClung led the way with a 97.4 score.

In the final, McClung’s 50-pointer on his second dunk helped him gain a slight edge over Brown, beating the Celtics star out 98.8 to 97.8. While the judges believed the final round was extremely close to call, many viewing the event believed that Brown’s performance underwhelmed.

It seems Embiid is confident that he could give participants a run for their money based on the way everything played out on Saturday. As he mentioned, though, his injury history says it would be a bad idea.

Since entering the NBA, Embiid has battled lower-body injuries far too often. Currently, the MVP-winning big man is recovering from a meniscus injury, which has him off the floor for an extended period of time. As a result, the seven-time All-Star was replaced in the big game by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.