Joel Embiid had to do it like the kids on the playground, a yell of "Kobe!" as he shot a fadeaway in the one-night-only No. 24 jersey he wore for his basketball idol. Embiid buried the bucket to give him a tidy 24 points -- and yes, eight defensive rebounds -- in a somber night in Philly dedicated to Kobe Bryant. Embiid returned early from a hand injury, in part to help the Sixers in their push for a better playoff seed in the East, but also because he wanted to honor Bryant. Embiid was a teen in Africa when he first got hooked on basketball watching Bryant in the 2010 NBA Finals. Bryant's style and swagger inspired the 7-foot Embiid to give up volleyball and convince his father he had a new direction in his promising athletic career. "That was the turning point in my life," Embiid said. "It was watching Kobe. After watching, I just wanted to be like him." Wearing No. 24 in honor of Bryant, Embiid powered Philadelphia to a 115-104 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. read more https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401161344
