*At 7-feet and 250-pounds, center Joel Embiid barely missed injuring Regina King when diving for a ball at Tuesday night’s Sixers game.
According to reports, Embiid went airborne in the third quarter to save a loose ball from going out of bounds. In the process, he crashed into a group of spectators and hurdled over the actress as she sat courtside during the team’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Watch the moment via the video embed below.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Jussie Smollett Can’t Believe People Are Doubting Him … in GMA Interview – WATCH
Yoooo. Thank you God and @JoelEmbiid for your athletic abilities. Crisis averted ?? https://t.co/LLTtzECuV4
— Regina King (@ReginaKing) February 14, 2019
The two-time All Star’s shoe appears to make contact with King’s braid bun. Video footage from the moment shows King putting her hand as she braced herself for impact. The Emmy-winner hit up Twitter to express gratitude for not getting hurt.
“Thank you God and @JoelEmbiid for your athletic abilities,” tweeted King, who is nominated for an Oscar for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” “Crisis averted.”
King was sitting near Tracy Morgan during the game and the two shared a laugh after the incident.
Joel Embiid almost put his foot directly through this man’s chest cavity pic.twitter.com/Z20WJ12VIg
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 14, 2019
“I haven’t done that since my rookie season — and it just happened,” the 24-year-old athlete stated following the 76ers’ 126-111 win. “It’s good that I saved her life, I guess, but someone else had to, like, take that. I’m sorry about that.”
Embiid said of why he didn’t pull up earlier, “I only know one way to play and that’s to play hard and compete.”
An MSG Network statistician sitting behind King wasn’t as lucky, as the Philadelphia 76ers star drop kicked him in the chest as he crashed into the crowd. The man wasn’t injured and Embiid helped him up, later apologizing for the accident.
His teammate Ben Simmons also commented on the near-miss, telling ESPN of the statistician, “I didn’t see him, but I know he’s going to feel it tomorrow.”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
