“Can’t let a man get 70 on you”: Shaquille O’Neal sounds off on Joel Embiid decimating Victor Wembanyama

Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid showed the league and fans once again why he is considered the most valuable player in the NBA right now. This time, he did so at the expense of the San Antonio Spurs on Monday when he dropped 70 points.

While his legendary performance is being celebrated by many, the main person who was tasked with guarding him received some criticism from legendary big man Shaquille O'Neal.

The person who was given the unfortunate task of stopping Embiid just so happened to be the 2023 No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama. While he had a solid game, Shaq was not at all impressed by him.

During the postgame coverage, Candace Parker pointed out that Wemby scored 33 points, which Shaq immediately shot down by saying that it was "not good enough."

Afterward, Jamal Crawford pointed out that the young rookie was given the Herculean task of playing against a potential two-time MVP.

"I don't care," was Shaq's response to Crawford's point. "You can't let nobody hit 70 on you, no. It's null and void, I don't wanna hear that."

"Listen, he had a good game," Shaq added referring to the Spurs rookie."But I don't wanna hear it, 'Oh he had 33.' No, you can't let a man get 70 on you."

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Joel Embiid is leading the NBA in points per game this season

There were plenty of doubters who claimed that Joel Embiid did not deserve to win the MVP award last year but his performance this season has proved them wrong.

Embiid is on pace to win the NBA's scoring title for the third straight time as he has averaged 36.1 points per game in 32 appearances so far this season. His phenomenal year has led the Philadelphia 76ers to the third spot in the Eastern Conference and it looks like they have no plans of slowing down as they are in the middle of a six-game winning streak.

This is Embiid's third straight season where he has averaged over 30 points per game, as he ended 2021-22 averaging 30.6 ppg and 2022-23 with 33.1. So far this year, he has never scored below 20 points and has scored under 30 just five times, while he's scored 40 or more six times.

Additionally, he already has two 50-point games, as well as his 70-point performance against the Spurs.

Joel Embiid's consistency in putting up points has also placed alongside legendary company. He is behind only Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Luka Doncic on the all-time points-per-game leaderboard.

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