While everyone was sent into a (brief) frenzy over Joel Embiid possibly playing soccer over the weekend, it turned out that the center was more of an honorary member of an All-Star team that played an exhibition Friday. But as he showed in a few different video clips, he can probably hold his own on the pitch.
For a guy as big as he is, Embiid still seems to have a pretty good touch on the ball. You can see how pronounced the size difference is between he and some other soccer players in this group shot of the roster.
GALLERY : See all the stars in action during the Ultimate Champions Match ahead of the #UCLfinal ➡️ https://t.co/wNRvr4x7jF pic.twitter.com/tqWDSK6IsJ
— #UCLfinal (@ChampionsLeague) June 2, 2017
And although Embiid might not have been playing a high-stress role in the exhibition match, he did participate in the game a little bit. There’s video of him “playing goalie” in the game, which is really just him sort of standing around on the goal line and waving his gigantic arms around a bunch.
Suker gol to @JoelEmbiid @sixers @SkySport @NBA @NBAItalia #SkyCardiff #JuveReal @AleMamoli pic.twitter.com/E5IlgbKdr1
— Francesco Cosatti (@FCosatti) June 2, 2017
I’m sure the Sixers would have rather he stayed on the sideline, but if this was the extent of his participation, it’s not worth being worried about. A basic pre-game warmup in the NBA is more dangerous than this, and you can’t begrudge the guy for having some fun during the offseason.
And by the way, somebody needs to hook me up with one of these jerseys ASAP:
El NBA Embiid, The Process, madridista confeso, a pie de campo en Cardiff siguiendo el entrenamiento del Real #finalchampions pic.twitter.com/BGQd08mawB
— Jaime Rodríguez (@JaimeRodrigC) June 2, 2017