WWE News: Triple H Gives NBA Player Joel Embiid A Major All-Star Game Assist
Oftentimes, the worlds of WWE and professional sports cross paths. Several major sports stars have found their way onto WWE television programming or are shown in the crowd during events. Oftentimes, they even participate in matches against the pro wrestlers. In the latest WWE news, one NBA player received a major assist from WWE COO Triple H in terms of the All-Star game voting process.
Most recently, there have been Triple H Royal Rumble rumors and of course, sightings of the former WWE champion at various press conferences. These include the United Kingdom tournament announcement several weeks ago, and more recently, his appearance at a press conference in New Orleans. That was to announce the return of WWE’s WrestleMania to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the New Orleans Saints. Fittingly, Drew Brees was seen in the crowd during Monday Night Raw just a night prior.
While New Orleans is also home to the NBA’s Pelicans and this year’s All-Star Game, Triple H recently helped out an opposing center from a team in the Eastern Conference. According to an ESPN report on Saturday, “The Game” served up an assist of sorts for Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid. After his teammate T.J. McConnell hit a game-winning shot against the New York Knicks, Embiid showed love for McConnell in a strange way. The Sixers center put a sort of stranglehold on his teammate and is seen screaming in his face, to show the love, of course. He let a top WWE star know where he discovered the concept.
I learned this by watching you, @TripleH
Is the @WWE ready for The Process?
Joel Embiid #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/Ioya5CYpnU
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 12, 2017
WWE stars are rarely ones to turn down publicity from other outlets, and that certainly includes pro sports and social media buzz. So to help out the cause, Triple H tweeted back to Embiid making sure to include a helpful hashtag.
To play the game you gotta go through The Process … #NBAVote https://t.co/PzD3Qa46H6
— Triple H (@TripleH) January 13, 2017
The “#NBAVote” is the official hashtag fans can use to vote for players for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game on social media. Due to Triple H’s tweet and his large fanbase on Twitter, the simple reply tweet helped boost Embiid’s voting total by 10,000. There were more tweets involved beyond that, including a video showing Embiid with Triple H’s entrance music and trademark water spit up into the air.
#NBAVote Joel Embiid with the @TripleH @WWE entrance ??? https://t.co/6YHE2AyF2n
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 14, 2017
Triple H tweeted back once again with some helpful advice for the NBA star and floor cleaning crew, along with that helpful hashtag again.
Still have to perfect the water-to-spit ratio…Not bad for a first attempt. #MopTheFloor#NBAVote Joel Embiid https://t.co/mjaNcStuZt
— Triple H (@TripleH) January 14, 2017
As of a few days ago, NBA indicated that Embiid was sitting in fourth place in front-court voting for the Eastern Conference team. He currently trails the leading vote-getter LeBron James, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Cavaliers player Kevin Love.
Ironically, Love and several other Cavaliers also received a visit from the WWE’s Undertaker after winning the NBA Championship last summer. However, there hasn’t been any further help from “The Deadman” needed for Love to receive a good number of votes heading towards the league’s All-Star Game.
For Embiid, it would be a first-time appearance in the game. He’s been plagued by injuries since being drafted high by Philadelphia several seasons ago. This current season has been his arrival party as he’s averaging 19.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. While the Sixers aren’t contending in the East for the playoffs or a title, Embiid appears to be the real deal and part of a team that will find success with its young talent in future seasons.
The tweet from Triple H has certainly helped, and even if Embiid isn’t voted into the starting lineup, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him added as a reserve player for the Eastern Conference. Now fans have to wonder if the next move will be getting Embiid involved in a wrestling match, but fans will probably need to wait for that one. NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is set to battle Big Show in a WrestleMania match first, but Embiid’s wrestling match may come down the road.
[Featured Image by WWE]
