Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid on Saturday said the quiet part out loud about the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Embiid, who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury, threw some shade at this year’s NBA All-Star Saturday main event held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Sixers star and self-proclaimed “professional hater” declared on X that he could win the dunk contest given how lax the scoring was on Saturday. Embiid added that he’s mainly being held back by his injury-prone knees, which have both sidelined him at different points of the season.
“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,” wrote Embiid.
https://twitter.com/JoelEmbiid/status/1759061067160842647
Embiid isn’t exactly known to be a creative in-game dunker. Big men often get penalized in the dunk contest as well for not having the same hang time on dunks as wings and guards. But the reigning MVP still put himself ahead of this year’s field.
Embiid’s claim will more than likely remain an online musing rather than actually manifest in an appearance at next year’s contest. But if it ever happened, fans would surely appreciate the star power Embiid could bring to the event. The dunk contest’s back-to-back winner Mac McClung isn’t even on an NBA roster.
The NBA finally saw an All-Star in his prime — Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown — participate in the event again this year. But Brown’s first dunk wasn’t even seen live due to a huge broadcasting blunder from TNT, as seen here.
