Philadelphia 76ers center and reigning MVP Joel Embiid saw the dunk and pulled off his version during a 124-109 victory over the Orlando Magic Friday night, later citing Edwards as his inspiration.

“I’ve done it before, it’s not the first time,” Embiid told reporters after the game. “[But] Anthony Edwards is one of my top-three favorite players in the league. He’s up there. Dude is so nice and I saw it last night. I said ‘If he can do it, why can’t I do it too?”

Embiid continued to hurl superlatives toward Edwards, who has lifted the Timberwolves to the top of the Western Conference with 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in his fourth season.

“I’m a big fan of his,” Embiid said. “I love him and I love his game. So I was like ‘Well, if I’m a big fan of him and when I grow up, I want to be like him…why can’t I do it too?'”

At seven feet tall, Embiid probably is all grown up, but it didn’t stop him from imitating Edwards. With both players pulling off the dunk, the only question left is who did it better?

There might even be a deeper source of inspiration as one X user pointed out that Edwards’ dunk looks eerily similar to the one Li’l Bow Wow pulled off when he found magic shoes on a power line in Like Mike.

Regardless, Timberwolves fans may just want to know what Edwards has up his sleeve next as Minnesota hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

Further Reading:

Former 76ers Sharpshooter Drops New Career-High

Philadelphia 76ers Over the past year, the Philadelphia 76ers have had a complete makeover of their supporting cast. Earlier this week, one of the recent departures erupted for a new career-high in points. After spending two years with the Sixers, Georges Niang departed in free agency last offseason.

He is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who inked him to a three-year deal worth $25.5 million. Through the start of his Cavaliers tenure, Niang was bringing the same kind of production he brought to the Sixers. He is averaging just over nine points per game while shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc.

However, the sharpshooting forward recently caught fire en route to notching a new career high. Earlier this week, the Cavaliers squared off against the Milwaukee Bucks. They managed to pull off a dominant upset, winning 135-95.

Niang played a big part in this victory, scoring 33 points off the bench. What stands out most from this performance from Niang is his efficiency shooting the ball. He converted 13 of his 14 shot attempts, including going 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Prior to this outing, the most points he had scored in a game this season was 16. Niang matched his previous career-high (24) with the Sixers, but he had done it twice with the Utah Jazz. He played in a total of 154 games across two seasons in Philly, where he averaged 8.7 PPG and was a 40% three-point shooter.

The veteran forward had his homecoming in Philly earlier this season and walked out with a win. Back in November, the Cavs took down the Sixers in overtime in an in-season tournament matchup. These teams will face off again on February 12th.