From United States President Donald Trump to former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott, LaVar Ball has been no stranger to making headlines by feuding with people over the internet or through the media this season.
That made it seem like quite some time since he traded barbs with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. With all of the social media squabbles Ball has gotten into since then, it’s easy to forget the time that he tweaked Embiid’s inability to stay healthy after the Sixers center told his teammate to dunk on Lonzo Ball on draft night.
In response to that slight, Embiid went on Instagram live and used an expletive directed at Ball. That prompted Ball to fire back at Embiid, telling the young center to “shut his mouth.”
That might have made it seem like the two wouldn’t be exchanging pleasantries anytime soon, particularly in person. However, when Embiid and Ball met after the Lakers’ win over the Sixers on Thursday night, it became clear all this stuff is just for fun for the NBA’s two biggest trolls, via Zach Gelb of Fox Sports Radio:
Joel Embiid and LaVar Ball talk #Sixers #Lakers @JoelEmbiid @Lavarbigballer @975TheFanatic @76erz_ pic.twitter.com/mhwBM6qS4y
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) December 8, 2017
Embiid’s tweet after the game further confirmed the friendly meeting:
Tough loss but met LaVar and he’s definitely fun and full of energy #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/UiYHP8XLNA
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) December 8, 2017
This kind of interaction would seem to make it clear that LaVar’s shameless braggadocio and trolling are all done with his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, and that he’s just having fun with all of our reactions to everything he does.
That said, we probably shouldn’t be surprised if the two start going at each other again. We’ll just know next time that it’s all for fun, or practice to keep their trolling game as strong as possible.