Joel Embiid credits Kobe Bryant for inspiring his 70-piece

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid credits Kobe Bryant for inspiring his 70-point performance

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 1/23/24

As revealed by the man himself, Joel Embiid didn’t start playing organized basketball until the age of 16. So, what exactly led to him catching the basketball bug in his late teens?

After dropping a career-high 70 points Monday night – incidentally on the same date as Kobe Bryant’s 81 on January 22, 2006 – Embiid revealed that “The Black Mamba” inspired him to pursue a career in the sport he currently dominates.

“Even though I started playing late, from the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy,” Embiid told reporters after the game. “He’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny because on the same night he had 81… he was my favorite player when I started, and one of the guys I was looking up to.”

KOBE!!! 70 Piece pic.twitter.com/1qnYwTfhsB
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 23, 2024

Just the way Bryant inspired Embiid to strive for greatness, the big man from Cameroon hopes to do the same for Victor Wembanyama – or any other young player – looking up to him. Embiid’s comments came in response to Wemby referring to his 70 piece as “inspiring” after being on the receiving end of the Sixers center's career night.

“In a couple of years, hopefully when I don’t have to guard him or I’m out of the league, he’s able to do the same thing and go out and break all these records – possibly break Wilt’s record of 100 points,” Embiid said of Wemby.

For what it’s worth, Embiid was a 12-year-old boy living in Cameroon when Bryant dropped 81 against the Raptors 18 years ago.

"From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy...he was the reason why I started playing basketball"

Embiid on scoring 70 PTS 18 years to the day after Kobe scored 81... and on Wemby calling his performance inspiring ️ pic.twitter.com/Yl7iDN5aHV
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2024