No, Joel Embiid did not reignite his feud with Karl-Anthony Towns
Joel Embiid’s feud with Karl-Anthony Towns is a thing of the past despite what social media might have led you to believe this week.
A Twitter post went viral this week claiming that Embiid and Draymond Green stuck up for Russell Westbrook after Towns criticized Westbrook.
The post, which you can see here, included a profane comment that Embiid left on Towns’ Instagram page in which Embiid called Towns a “p—y” and a “b—h” (profanity edited by LBS). That led many to take the narrative that the Embiid-Towns beef was back on the menu and run with it.
This was not the case though. It is true Green left a comment bashing Towns in direct response to Towns’ criticism of Westbrook. But the comment that Embiid wrote is actually over two years old. Embiid wrote it on Towns’ page back in Oct. 2019 after the two fought on the court during a game. We even did a story about it here on LBS at the time.
In March of last year however, Embiid put an end to the feud by expressing his well wishes for Towns after Towns’ mother was hospitalized due to COVID-19 and eventually died due to the illness.
We’re with you brother!!! We’ll keep praying @KarlTowns
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) March 25, 2020
Towns also showed love to Embiid just last month after Embiid returned from his own bout with COVID.
“I told Embiid on the court, I am very happy that he’s come to the other side with COVID,” said Towns, per Sports Illustrated. “We had our thing for a while, but that’s bigger than basketball. That’s bigger than what we have. I’ve seen it kill people, and I’m glad that he is on the other side. I am very, very happy that he’s doing well and he’s coming out on the other side and that he is healthy and he is getting himself back into basketball.”
The Embiid-Towns story is a heartwarming one of former enemies putting aside their differences and showing compassion for each other during their respective times of need. That is what makes resurrecting an old comment made by Embiid and spinning it as a brand-new shot at Towns misleading and just flat-out wrong.
Photo: Nov 27, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before action against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports