Meek Mill, just hours after being released from prison on bail, rang the bell before the start of Game 5 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff series against the Miami Heat.
Mill, a prominent rapper and Philadelphia native, came to the game with minority owner Michael Rubin and comedian Kevin Hart and spent time with the team in the locker room before the game.
He also exchanged a greeting with star center Joel Embiid before tip from his courtside seat — where Mill is wearing an Embiid jersey.
Mill, whose given name is Robert Williams, had received a visit earlier Tuesday from comedian Hart and Rubin at a state correction institution in Chester, Pa., at which he was incarcerated for five months for a probation violation. A short time later, Rubin posted on Instagram a picture of himself, Mill and Hart at a Sixers game, and said he was going back to the prison to pick the rapper up. The lift Rubin provided turned out to include a helicopter trip to rush the rapper back to Philadelphia for the 8 p.m. tip-off at Wells Fargo Center.
Sixers players ran out onto the court Tuesday night for pregame warm-ups to Mill’s “Ima Boss” after sharing embraces with the rapper inside their locker room.
Mill’s case has been championed by players across the NBA — including Sixers rookies Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, who reportedly went to visit him in prison, as well — and he has frequently attended Philadelphia games over the years. After ringing the bell Tuesday, Mill headed to a seat courtside.
Just the idea of the rapper being in attendance for Tuesday night’s game — which, if the Sixers win, will mean they advance to the second round for the first time in six years, where they’ll face either the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics — swept across the Internet.
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