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NBA Fans Roast Ex-Pennsylvania Governor for Ice Cold Joel Embiid Take

This take ... did not age well.

Tom Dierberger

NBA Fans Roast Ex-Pennsylvania Governor for Ice Cold Joel Embiid Take
NBA Fans Roast Ex-Pennsylvania Governor for Ice Cold Joel Embiid Take /
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Joel Embiid made NBA history Monday night by dropping a career-high 70 points and 18 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers’ win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Once the game ended, an old post by former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell started to make the rounds on social media.

On June 26, 2014—the night of the NBA draft—Rendell fired off a tweet suggesting the 76ers should select Doug McDermott over Joel Embiid with the No. 3 pick.

Of course, the 76ers wisely drafted Embiid at No. 3 after Andrew Wiggins landed with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the top pick and the Milwaukee Bucks selected Jabari Parker at No. 2.

McDermott, who starred for the Creighton Bluejays for four seasons from 2010 to ‘14, was selected No. 11 by the Denver Nuggets and traded that same night to the Chicago Bulls.

McDermott has carved out a solid career over the last 10 years, averaging 9.1 points per contest in 629 career games for six different teams. But, of course, his résumé doesn’t compare to Embiid, the six-time NBA All-Star and 2022-23 MVP.

It just so happened McDermott witnessed Embiid’s 70-point flurry in person, as he chipped in 13 points in 22 minutes for the Spurs on Monday.

The NBA world made plenty of jokes about Rendell’s spicy 2014 take:

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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