Philadelphia 76ers fittingly face Minnesota Timberwolves to earn playoffs

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 3: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers plays against Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Wells Fargo Center on January 3, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Timberwolves embarrass 76ers on national television

The media captured the hype of pitting the Philadelphia 76ers against the Minnesota Timberwolves on a rare televised game on November 17, 2016. That game was portrayed as a solid heat between two rebuilding NBA teams. But the Timberwolves had played together the entire previous season, and this contest was just the twelfth NBA game for both Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.

What came out of that loss was a stinging loss which immediately let the Philadelphia 76ers know just how far they had to go to be competitive in the NBA. The loss fostered another wave of vitriol targeting the young Philadelphia 76ers as a

Social Embiidia

The second outcome? The Philadelphia 76ers fans quickly learned just how incredible Joel Embiid would grow on the team.

Joel Embiid on rematch with Timberwolves: "I think it’s payback time"

(@jcameratocsn) #SixersTalk https://t.co/fhsU3UPjpU
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 2, 2017

The Philadelphia 76ers did win the next contest in Philadelphia. 93-91.

But the win doesn’t happen without Joel Embiid calling it on social media. Since that embarassing loss, the Philadelphia 76ers are 2-0 against the Timberwolves.