Joel Embiid had one of the most heartbreaking reactions to Kobe Bryant’s death when the news broke on Sunday. Embiid wrote about how Kobe’s performance in the 2010 NBA Finals, beating the Celtics in seven games and winning Finals MVP, inspired him as a teenager in Cameroon to start playing basketball.
For the Sixers’ first game since the tragedy, Embiid called up Philadelphia legend Bobby Jones to ask if he could wear Jones’s retired No. 24 as a tribute to Kobe. Jones agreed.
Embiid, who had missed the last nine games with a hand injury, wore No.