Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has more technical fouls than games played in 2024-25. How is that possible? The former MVP earned a technical foul for a belated infraction due to his bench antics on Monday.
On Sunday, his 76ers were narrowly leading the home Indiana Pacers 114-111 with 16.4 seconds remaining. Andrew Nembhard was at the line for Indiana, attempting to trim Phiadelphia’s lead.
Embiid, dressed in an all-black jumpsuit, waved his towel on the bench in the build-up to the free throw. When Nembhard missed, the 76ers center waved it even faster.
He would be assigned a technical foul retroactively by the NBA on Monday after the league reviewed footage of the play.
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NBA has assessed Joel Embiid with a postgame technical foul for waving a towel during an Andrew Nembhard free throw attempt late in 76ers-Pacers on Sunday,” read the league’s two-minute report.
Philadelphia ended up winning 118-114 to earn their first victory of the season in three tries – the team has missed Embiid and star offseason import Paul George in each contest.
Ascending star Tyrese Maxey led the way with 45 points in 48 minutes, his best on the season. The 2024 NBA Most Improved player inked a five-year, $204M extension with the team this summer.
This is the clip of Joel Embiid waving a towel from the bench that has been assessed as a technical foul. https://t.co/e0uoDBC3U6 pic.twitter.com/0BtdVPfdQd
Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 28, 2024
Offseason acquisition Eric Gordon paced the team off the bench with 15 points in 32 minutes. He leads a new bench featuring French Olympic sensation Guerschon Yabusele, first-round pick Jared McCain, and 23-year-old KJ Martin.
Embiid is out for the time being with what the team deems as “left knee injury management.” He underwent off-season knee surgery on a lingering lateral meniscus injury, though Embiid did feature for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
The 76ers will certainly look to bubblewrap their 30-year-old star to have him fresh for the 2025 playoffs – Embiid returned only a week prior to the team’s 2024 postseason run.
Embiid inked a three-year, $193 extension with Philadelphia this offseason to keep him. in the city of brotherly love through the 2028-29 season.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps provided an updated timetable on Embiid last week: “On Wednesday, Embiid’s time on the court inside Wells Fargo Center was limited to him dribbling during the timeout between the first and second quarters.”
“He did, however, work out in front of reporters on both Monday and Tuesday, and multiple sources continue to say Embiid looks good physically in workouts as he works his way back to game action.”
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