Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns became the talk of the NBA on Wednesday night when they were ejected for their on-court scuffle, but many people were more interested in the social media fight that followed. While the two big men traded a lot of standard trash talk, Embiid may have also gotten very personal with Towns.
If you followed all the drama that went on with the Minnesota Timberwolves early last season, you may recall some rumors about Towns not wanting to sign an extension with the team unless Butler were gone. Black Sports Online had a summary of it at the time, but the gist of it was that Butler had an intimate relationship with a woman who was dating Towns. Around the time the alleged hookup took place, Towns and his girlfriend stopped posting about each other on social media.
Here’s what one Instagram user claimed he was told from “someone in the organization.”
Well that GF comment is still on their IG. pic.twitter.com/dS6c6HRwJI
— Marlena Myles (@ThisIsMarlena) September 19, 2018
Of course, there’s no way to confirm any of that. However, the rumors picked up enough steam that Towns felt the need to shoot them down.
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 20, 2018
Fast-forward to Wednesday night. As you know, Butler was traded from Minnesota to the Philadelphia 76ers last season. When Embiid was unloading on Towns on Instagram, one of the things he said was, “That’s why you were treated like a b—- by you know who. I ain’t gonna put your business out (but) I got the facts about you.”
Joel Embiid WILL NOT let Towns get the last word @MickstapeShow pic.twitter.com/W1BsTeI9SR
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 31, 2019
It seemed like Embiid was saying Butler told him all about Towns, and most would agree he was alluding to the girlfriend rumors.
Embiid and Towns have long had problems with each other, largely owing to their status as top big men in the game. In December 2017, Embiid rubbed it in on social media after getting a win over Towns’ Timberwolves, which led to a response from Towns. Then when the teams met again in March last year, Embiid took another shot at Towns. If Embiid was alluding to the girlfriend rumors, the rivalry just got a little more personal.
