The phenomenal Embiid steals the show with 59(!) points in an NBA game

If you score 59 points in a single game, you’re not a human, you’re a basketball machine.

Joel Embiid is one of the greatest in the NBA with 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks, helping the Philadelphia 76ers win a 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. With these 59 points, Embiid broke the points record of this NBA season.

Dunk after dunk, jump shot after jump has always been a hit for the 28-year-old star player. “My teammates knew who had the hottest hand, they just had to feed me the ball,” Embiid later told reporters. Although he adds that this is really a team effort.

Outstanding despite shoulder injury

His record is impressive, with Embiid missing a lot of playing time this year due to a knee injury and other ailments. The day before the game, he was still struggling with a shoulder injury, which he said could not lift his arm some days. And he takes great pain when blocking opponents’ shots.

There was no such thing on Sunday. “I have never seen a player perform so well both offensively and defensively,” coach Doc Rivers later said.

It was still exciting to see if Embiid could score his sixtieth point as well. With less than a minute left, he made another attempt with a shot that bounced off the side of the basket. But history was already written, the prize was in the bag, and the cake was understandably ready.

Only four times in Philadelphia 79ers history a player has scored more than Embiid’s 59th. Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain comes first, second and third, followed by Allen Iverson.

Chamberlain’s summit seems out of reach even for the extraordinary Embiid. Chamberlain wreaked havoc in 1962 by scoring 100 points in a game, an NBA record that still stands today.