Lonzo Ball became one of the few — if any — players in NBA history to release a mixtape midseason, and reactions on social media to what the Los Angeles Lakers rookie put out have been mixed.
Ball, who will perform a concert in Lithuania this summer, has clearly been practicing his rap skills for a long time, dating back to his high school days, when he would post videos of himself freestyling on Twitter in his car.
Fittingly, a car is also where Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid streamed himself and rookie guard Markelle Fultz listening to Ball’s album.
They added plenty of fire emojis and at one point yelling “this is fire,” although it’s not immediately clear if he was serious or — more likely — being sarcastic. The video was shared via Twitter user Def Pen Hoops:
Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz got their hands on Lonzo Ball's album ???????????? pic.twitter.com/kYfkePmdmv
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) March 11, 2018
If Embiid is mocking Ball’s rap skills, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s had a back and forth with the Ball family. Embiid memorably feuded with LaVar Ball over the summer and early in the season, although although Embiid later claimed that all of that was “just fun.”
The Lakers and Sixers have two of the most promising young cores in the entire NBA, and while the two teams don’t play against each other again this season, there is a potential future where they’re competing for NBA championships in a few years.
If that potential reality comes to pass, then off-the-court disses like this will make that rivalry a lot more fun. Especially considering that Ball and Fultz were picked back-to-back in the 2017 NBA draft and will probably face countless comparisons to each other for the rest of their careers.
Or maybe Embiid just really liked Lonzo’s album. The world may never know.