Sixers big man Joel Embiid nearly took out Oscar nominee Regina King in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s Sixers-Knicks game in Madison Square Garden, but he managed to barely graze the actress as he soared over her and landed on an unlucky man in the second row.
Embiid, who is listed at 250 pounds, jumped over the front row of fans sitting courtside as he attempted to save a ball going out of bounds. King, who you may know from If Beale Street Could Talk and Jerry Maguire, was inches away from taking a sneaker to the face.
Embiid collided with MSG Network statistician Dave Fried, who met with Embiid after the game. Fried said the impact “hurt for a second,” but that he was uninjured.
As for King, Embiid noted that he “saved her life.”
Via ESPN:
“It’s good that I saved her life, I guess, but someone else had to, like, take that. I’m sorry about that.”
