Joel Embiid ended his historic night with a special story about the late Kobe Bryant. The Philadelphia 76ers star dropped his career high 70 points on a very special day. The day when the Los Angeles Lakers legend dropped his career high of 81 points in 2006. 18 years later, Embiid produced a magical night to transport the NBA world to the glorious past.

The Sixers hosted the San Antonio Spurs at the City of Brotherly Love. While it was considered to be usual M0nday night game, it turned out to be a historical night for the Philly side. Embiid not only recorded his career high but also surpassed Wilt Chamberlain for the franchise record. Above all, the Kobe Bryant high score coincidence came in as an icing on the cake.

Following the game, he answered a few questions from the post-game press conference. And one of the reporters brought out the Kobe Bryant coincidence. In response to that, Embiid said, “From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy…he was the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny because on the same night, he had 81.”

The Lakers legend’s 81-pointer came in against the Toronto Raptors and recorded the second highest scoring game in the NBA history after Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points.

Bryant completely outnumbered his teammates on 22nd January, 2006. He shot at 28-46 FG, which also included seven three-pointers and 18 FTs. Moreover, the second high score for the Lakers on that night was 13 points, scored by Smush Parker.

Similarly, in tonight’s game, it was also a one man show, where Embiid dropped 70 points with 18 rebounds and 21 FTs. The second highest score for the Sixers was 18 points by Tyrese Maxey.

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This wasn’t the first time when Embiid credited his love for the game to Kobe. Let’s see what Embiid had to say about the legend and the incident that pushed him towards him.

Embiid credits Bryant for his basketball career

It would be a lie to tell that Kobe Bryant hasn’t influenced any baller of the current generation. And Embiid hasn’t denied it. During a podcast episode with Draymond Green, he said, “Kobe is the reason I started playing basketball.”

Moreover, he also gave away the exact playoff series that pushed him to professional balling. Embiid added, “I was about 14 and I was watching the Finals. Lakers against Boston. That’s the first time I watched NBA basketball. Kobe was killing it and I was like, damn, I want to be like him. This is crazy.”

This moved the Cameroonian teenager to switch sports and take up the basketball. Eventually find his home in Philly.

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What do you make of the magical Kobe Bryant coincidence on Embiid’s high scoring game? Let us know in the comments below.