Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant first locked horns in the 2017-18 season, during KD’s stint with the Golden State Warriors, in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. From their very first meeting, the two bigmen engaged in heated, profanity-laced exchanges, setting the tone for a rivalry that persisted over the next several years.
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Recently, details from two of their intense verbal showdowns, from 2017 and 2o21, were leaked on social media. The first NSFW comments originated after JoJo fouled Durant, but the latter disagreed with the call.
Embiid: “That’s a block, f**k out of here.”
Durant: “That’s not a f**king block… hoe a** n****.”
Embiid: “F**k out of here.”
The Durantula got the final laugh when leading the Warriors to a 135-114 blowout victory over the Philly side. Additionally, the 2014 MVP – 29 points, 4 assists, and 4 stocks (steals + blocks) – also recorded a better stat line than Embiid – 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 stocks. Four matchups between the two passed and no significant trash-talk was exchanged.
However, on December 30th, 2021, the two exchanged some of the most humiliating insults. Towards the end of the Brooklyn Nets-Sixers contest. A scuffle almost broke out to separate the two from each other. Despite their teammates’ best efforts to prevent them from passing any remarks, Embiid and Durant passed some nasty comments.
Durant: “Who are you talking to?” B*tch a** n****. F**k you, n****. Y’all keep that same energy, no matter what.”
Embiid: “Go home”
Durant: “Congrats. Congratulations. Good job. Soft a** n****.”
LEAKED Audio Of Kevin Durant Trash Talking Joel Embiid In 2017:
Embiid: “That’s a block, f*ck out of here”
Durant: “That’s not a f*cking block… hoe a** n****”
Then, in 2021, they went at it again.
Embiid: “Go home”
Durant: “Soft a** n****… it ain’t even the playoffs yet” pic.twitter.com/xKG30OEFRP
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) September 25, 2024
In this incident, the Sixers center emerged victorious. A better-looking stat line – 34 points and 7 rebounds – than KD’s – 33 points and 6 rebounds – resulted in the Pennsylvania side clinching a 110-102 win.
While they made it their mission to completely disrespect each other with the pleasantries exchanged, their comments from the post-game press conference suggest that the two admired each other. Both lauded the other for being an extremely talented player and stated that the trash talk originated from sheer competitiveness.
“If you’ve been watching Joel and I play against each other, it’s been like that every game, even the All-Star Game. We just respect each other so much that natural competitive fire comes out,” Durant claimed.
Kevin Durant on trash talk with Joel Embiid: “If you’ve been watching Joel and I play against each other, it’s been like that every game, even the All-Star Game. We just respect each other so much that natural competitive fire comes out.” https://t.co/ByVSFrnoNB
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) December 31, 2021
Embiid also blamed their competitive fire for the barrage of abusive words. Further, he revealed his respect for KD.
“We’re just competitive… There’s a lot of respect… There’s not a lot of guys that are able to do it and if there was one player that I think is more talented than me, it’s definitely him (Durant). I have a lot of respect for him and admire his game,” Embiid stated.
With Durant having shifted back to the Western Conference, the two haven’t gone up against each other as much. However, they produced an action-packed thriller on each of the eight occasions that they went up against each other. In these bouts, the Slim Reaper recorded more points (29.1-24.6), assists (5.6-3.3), stocks (2.6-2.2), and wins (5-3).
Representing the nation at the 2024 Olympics certainly got the two players to grow closer to each other. Despite the friendship that they now share, fans can expect Durant and Embiid to still go at each other’s throats in their matchups.
