Friday night, after a first-quarter elbow jumper drew an and-1, Joel Embiid celebrated with the Shawn Michaels/D-Generation X “suck it” celebration.
That cost him $50,000 for “making a lewd gesture on the playing court,” the NBA announced Sunday.
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/yFshBPjMpr
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 2, 2025
Embiid responded on X that if he is getting fined for this gesture, NBA referees should be fined for their blocking call gestures.
Yall better start fining the refs for doing the “Lewd”, “blocking foul” gesture since I’m not allowed to do it #NFL https://t.co/WCkaPCOl9I
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) November 2, 2025
. @NBA pic.twitter.com/B9Vb2DFamH
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) November 2, 2025
I appreciate where Embiid is going, but anything we can do to get actual personality from the referees is welcome in these parts.
Philadelphia is off to a fast 4-1 start this season, with Embiid averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in just more than 22 minutes a game. Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and the 76ers’ backcourt have sparked the hot start and are the reason Philadelphia has the second-best offense in the league so far.
