The Genius Joel Embiid and 10 More Athletes to Follow on Twitter
Joel Embiid’s pre-draft injury will likely cause the Philadelphia 76ers rookie to miss a large chunk of the upcoming NBA season. Luckily, Embiid’s Twitter game remains in perfect condition.
At the handle @JoelEmbiid, the former Kansas Jayhawk likes to keep his followers up to date on his latest love interests. Last month, it was Kim Kardashian. That was until Embiid caught up with the rest of the world and learned that the reality TV star was recently married to one of the biggest hip-hop artists in the world.
So, moving on, Embiid declared his love for Rihanna.
And again.
And again.
And again.
He’s smitten, what can we say?
But beyond keeping up with his Kardashian (and other) crushes, Embiid is an all-around funny social media personality. His frequent threats of quitting Twitter have become funny in themselves, because Embiid is definitely still on the Twitter machine, clowning around, throwing out #EMB11DsADVICE, or posting links to his just-as-funny Instagram. The big man is well worth a follow.
And on the topic of athletes to follow on Twitter, Embiid isn’t the only pro worth checking out. Here are a handful more we think you’ll get a kick out of.
1. Jose Canseco (@josecanseco)
All right, baseball fans. You may have a few reasons to dislike Jose Canseco, but his Twitter account is not one of them. Canseco is darn near the definition of “off the chain,” featuring tweets on meathead philosophy and pictures of goats in his car. It’s almost as if the former Bash Brother’s mind was sent to the fourth dimension and is tweeting us directly from there.
But seriously. Listen, Jose, we don’t care whether you used PEDs or not. Just promise to never put a lid on your Twitter posts.
2. Matt Bonner (@RedMamba_15)
He calls himself the Red Mamba, a play on Kobe Bryant’s Black Mamba, and that should give you enough of an idea as to why the San Antonio Spurs redhead Matt Bonner is a pretty good follow on Twitter. Most of the memes and funny tidbits he posts are basketball-centric, so knowing your hoops is a plus here.
But the Red Rocket is also a pretty hip cat when it comes to music and culture. He’s like a slightly more talented version of Brian Scalabrine (aka “The White Mamba”).
Update: It’s been brought to our attention that this is a Matt Bonner parody account. Still funny!
3. Hunter Pence (@hunterpence)
The San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence isn’t just one of the league’s best players this season, he’s also a gamer, a Seinfeld fan, and a lover of memes. How do we know this stuff? It’s all on his Twitter feed.
Pence does a lot to show that not all baseball players have to be boring (sorry, Derek Jeter). So, sure, Pence likely won’t ever make the Baseball Hall of Fame — unlike boring Jeter who doesn’t even have a Twitter account is sure to do exactly five years from now — but the outfielder is a good athlete to follow on Twitter. So there. Take that, Yankees fans.
4. The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik)
Pro wrestling may not be a “sport,” but that doesn’t mean that pro wrestlers aren’t athletes. That easily places WWE legend The Iron Sheik into any “athletes you must follow on Twitter” list. Some of the craziness that Sheik tweets is not quite fit for our audience, but let’s just say that he’s not afraid to speak his mind — his very bizarre mind.
Despite his out-of-outer-space demeanor, Sheik’s rants can be best described as impressively topical, and impressionistic.
5. Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole)
Novak Djokovic is a man who loves his dogs and loves his tennis, and it’s all there in his sometimes zany but always sincere Twitter feed.
The multi Grand Slam winner and recent Wimbledon champ has been known to do a pretty good impression or two, and he brings that same spirited humor to social media.
6. Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather)
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a filthy rich championship boxer, Floyd Mayweather has no problem providing real-life visuals of that dream for ya. Whether it’s showing off one of his exorbitant purchases, posting a selfie with a big-name celeb (he also often links to his Shots account, for which he is an investor), or sharing a video or picture of himself training for a fight, Mayweather lets his followers in on the experience.
Bonus: If you small-timers are at all fascinated with (or addicted to) gambling, you’ll really appreciate how often “Money” Mayweather shares his big cash-ins with his social media fans. Look at that stuff long enough and you may even feel like a winner yourself.
7. Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2)
You gotta love this kid’s … spirit? The Heisman Trophy-winning college quarterback and new Cleveland Brown recently told the press, “I’m going to live my life to the fullest,” and you can tune in to his Twitter feed to catch up on how he’s living it.
Johnny Football’s tweets and tweeted pictures are sometimes star-studded, sometimes trash-talking, but typically spectacular (so much so that he’s been known to delete some after pressing Tweet). We’re not certain that he’ll end up the Brown’s #1 QB this year, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add him to your Twitter starting lineup.
8. Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte)
Remember “Jeah”? Just glance at U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte’s Twitter feed, and you’ll find that the Olympic swimming star has yet to give it up (he even fired one over to Barack Obama on the president’s birthday this year). But regardless of how “two years ago” his #jeahs are, you should still enjoy Lochte’s approach to social media for plenty of other reasons.
Perhaps you’re really into sculpted shirtless men. Or maybe you love America. Lochte is also a pretty silly cat, good for inciting a chuckle or two with his funny pictures, from both in and out of the pool. Oh, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention his newest hashtag: #streamlining. You’ll have to visit his Twitter feed to find out about that yourself.
9. Jason Dufner (@JasonDufner)
Very few casual golf fans knew Jason Dufner’s name before he won last year’s PGA Championship tournament. We now see that the win has proved good for giving both his golf career and his social-media-funnyman personas nice boosts.
Dufner has his own hashtag (#dufnering), created to playfully poke at the shaggy-haired golfer’s laid-back demeanor, and he even starred in an amusing Funny or Die video earlier this month. Might we suggest that Duf is just getting started?
10. Rob Delaney (@robdelaney)
And maybe the funniest, most entertaining of the bunch: Rob Delaney. You may know him for his standup comedy or writing, but did you realize the funnyman is also an avid runner?
When he’s not tweeting cries for help at @LAPD, or posting selfies at the first lady, Delaney is hitting the trails like a true sportsman. Yep, Rob Delaney. Funniest “athlete” on Twitter. Maybe the 76ers could play him at center?
(All images and tweets courtesy of Twitter.com and displayed accounts.)
Have questions, comments, or just want to tell me something funny? Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com.
