The NBA fined Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid after he celebrated like D-Generation X earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Embiid scored a bucket and walked away confidently. Embiid then crotch-chopped like he was in D-Generation X in the late 1990s. The video of the crotch-chop, provided by ClutchPoints, can be found below.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 26, 2023
Embiid and WWE are no strangers to one another. In fact, neither are Embiid and former DX leader, Triple H. Two years ago, Triple H joined the Sixers in Philadelphia for a playoff game and rang the Liberty Bell before the game began.
The NBA issued a statement on the fine on their website. It read, “Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $25,000 for making an obscene gesture on the playing court, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.”
Considering Joel’s response to Kevin Durant, who called it a “trash celebration,” don’t expect Embiid to feel sorry for what he did. Embiid responded to KD’s tweet with a custom-, likely fan-made video in the style of the famous DX titantron, but with Joel Embiid highlights spliced in as well.
Embiid has been one of the best players in basketball this season. He averaged 33.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game through his first 35 games this season with the Sixers. It’s working, so perhaps the WWE and DX celebrations won’t go anywhere, either.
[ClutchPoints, NBA]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022