Sixers star Joel Embiid is wise enough not to gamble with his money. After all, every dollar matters in this economy. Joel Embiid has always been one of the most amusingly expressive players in the league. He enjoys ruffling opposing fans’ feathers, and on Friday night, in an away game against the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Philadelphia 76ers star had an opportunity to rub some salt in Hawks’ fans’ wounds after finishing a tough and-one bucket over Onyeka Okongwu in the third quarter of what ended up being a 126-116 Sixers win.
Joel 馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ pic.twitter.com/gf7miGwZ3O
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 18, 2023
Embiid already had both arms in the air, winding up to pull off another crotch chop in tribute to Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ famed WWE wrestling company, D-Generation X. Embiid, on the other hand, must have remembered that the last time he celebrated in this fashion, he lost $35,000. So, instead of putting both arms across his groin, he held them in the air around his waist while he examined his core, thinking about how much lighter his wallet would be if he had gone through with that humorous celebration. The NBA ruled the DX crotch chop to be a “obscene” conduct, therefore the heavy fine for Joel Embiid for that celebration, which he performed during the Sixers’ rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on October 29, 2023. Embiid also chopped his crotch after a and-one layup in the third quarter of that same game, so perhaps it’s just muscle memory for the Sixers star to channel his inner Hunter Hearst Helmsley in these exact circumstances.
The first fine Embiid received for a crotch chop came after he nailed a and-one layup against the Brooklyn Nets in January 2023; at the time, the Sixers and Nets still had a rivalry after the Ben Simmons-James Harden trade of 2022, so Embiid chopped his crotch ferociously three times. He was penalized $25,000 by the league at the time, for a total loss of $60,000 for this celebration.
Embiid, despite being a multimillionaire, now understands better than to gamble with his money. After all, every dollar matters in this economy.
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