Joel Embiid Hopes Victor Wembanyama Breaks Historic Record, But Only After He Retires

Fresh off his 70-point performance, the 76ers star set the bar high for the rookie with lofty praise.

Fresh off the best performance of his career and one of the most dominant in NBA history, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid had praise to send in the direction of Victor Wembanyama. Embiid, who poured in 70 points with 18 rebounds and five assists during a 133–123 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, gave the rookie his flowers while setting the bar high with his postgame comments

Embiid was asked about Wembanyama calling his 70-point performance “inspiring,” and he appears to believe the sky’s the limit for the Spurs rising star.

• Mannix: Victor Wembanyama Remains Patient Amid Challenging Rookie Season

“If he says it’s inspiring, I hope in a couple years, hopefully when I don’t have to guard him and I’m out of the league, he’s able to do the same thing. And go out and break all these records and possibly break Wilt [Chamberlain’s] record of 100 points,” Embiid said to reporters about Wembanyama.

"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

The back-and-forth comments from Wembanyama and Embiid show an impressive amount of mutual respect. It’s apparent the 76ers big man was impressed the rookie, who had a strong night of his own, scoring 33 points on 10 of 19 shooting with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Any NBA player’s name even being mentioned in the conversation of having an outside shot at topping Chamberlain’s 100-point single-game record is doing something right. And it’s obvious Wembanyama’s impact on the NBA through the first half of the season has the attention of even the league’s biggest stars.