Gregg Popovich’s joke about stopping Joel Embiid backfired spectacularly with 70-point performance

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich might’ve been joking about how his team was going to try and shut down Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, but the message was received all the same.

Embiid dropped a career-high 70 points on the Spurs during a 133-123 home win on Monday night, made even more special by the fact that it came on the anniversary of basketball legend Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006.

He’s only the ninth player in NBA history to score 70 or more in a game.

To make the accomplishment even sweeter, Popovich joked about how Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama was going to take on Embiid for the first time by saying that San Antonio was going to “hammer [Embiid’s] [expletive].”

Some NSFW language to follow. 

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reveals what Victor Wembanyama's game plan will be tonight against the reigning MVP:

"We're gonna hammer his a$%." pic.twitter.com/8ZEvtyuEEv

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 22, 2024

It was indeed Embiid who got the last laugh with a historic performance on the court, one that had NBA fans chuckling at the irony of Popovich’s wisecrack coming right before an offensive takedown from Embiid.

pic.twitter.com/Yaww8sHuFf

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 23, 2024