Joel Embiid doesn’t like Lonzo Ball or his dad LaVar. At least, that’s what you probably thought after seeing some of the things Embiid put up on social media a few months back.
In June, Embiid and his teammate Ben Simmons shared a brief back-and-forth about the Balls on Twitter after LaVar suggested the Lakers would make the playoffs during his son’s rookie season. Embiid told Simmons that he should dunk on Lonzo "so hard that his daddy runs on the court to save him."
That led to LaVar taking a shot at Embiid, Simmons, and the 76ers on the radio a short time later, and it also eventually led to Embiid saying, "F*ck LaVar Ball," during an Instagram Live session after he got wind of what LaVar had said about him and his team. Embiid was later fined $10,000 by the NBA for his response to LaVar.
But despite all of this, Embiid just revealed that he doesn’t actually have anything against Lonzo, LaVar, or the Ball family. The Sixers are traveling to Los Angeles this week to play the Clippers on Monday night and the Lakers on Wednesday night, and Embiid is downplaying any "beef" he has with Lonzo ahead of the trip. During an interview with ESPN, he went as far as to say that he "loves" Lonzo and is just joking around whenever he takes shots at him and his dad on social media.
"I love Lonzo," Embiid said. "The whole situation with them, I think it’s just fun. I love what he’s doing, especially with his own shoe. He’s staking his own place. People think I hate him, but I love him."
Embiid also said he was just kidding around when he told Simmons to dunk on Lonzo. In fact, he said he stole that sentiment from Simmons’ sister Olivia, who tweeted the same thing back in May long before Embiid started beefing with the Balls.
"I just meant it to be funny," Embiid said. "Even the thing I said, 'Oh, please dunk on him.' I just took it from [Simmons’] sister, who said that like weeks before that."
Beef or not, the 76ers/Lakers matchup should be a good one. Philadelphia and Los Angeles have two of the youngest, most promising rosters in the league at the moment and could develop a great rivalry in the years to come. So all eyes will be on Embiid and Lonzo (and Simmons, for that matter) when the two teams take the court on Wednesday night.
