Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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Twitter had thoughts on a hard foul Joel Embiid committed against Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Sixers center Joel Embiid has been a divisive figure in the NBA since his debut.
At first, the division was over whether he was a savior or a bust. Now, the division is between generational talent or flop-heavy talent?
Those who argue the latter got some more ammunition on Friday night when Joel Embiid committed a foul against Giannis Antetokounmpo that ended up being called a flagrant 1:
Embiid moved over to stop Antetokounmpo, no easy task. In order to do so quickly, he had to put himself in an awkward position that resulted in him lowering his shoulder. The result looked a lot more like a football play than a basketball move (especially given Embiid’s significant stature), which is why it was called a flagrant.
Many, including ESPN color commentator Doris Burke, thought it should have been a flagrant 2 which would have resulted in an automatic ejection for Embiid. The officials agreed that it wasn’t a basketball play but did not agree that the foul fit the “unnecessary and excessive” qualification.
Twitter roasted Joel Embiid for flagrant foul against Giannis Antetokounmpo
Some wondered how in the world Embiid ended up on the floor. That speaks to the strength of Giannis more than anything:
Embiid intentionally elbows giannis and embiid is the one that ends up falling to the ground? Lol I can’t stand this dude
— 🇨🇦N-jay 🏀 (@_Njay3) November 19, 2022
Others considered how Embiid seems to get away with things like this more than other players. That’s kind of the norm for star players in the NBA, to be fair.
If that’s Grayson Allen and not Embiid, he’d be serving 50 years for attempted homicide
— Fitz (@cfitz0_) November 19, 2022
There were some people on Embiid’s side, too, though:
Giannis steps on people’s ankles, stiff arms people like he’s prime Marshawn Lynch but once Embiid tries to stop him from going up with an easy bucket it’s a flagrant 2? Chill out Doris Burke lol
— Prez💊 (@PresidentEmbiid) November 19, 2022
It was definitely a foul, but whether or not it was ejection-worthy is seemingly up for debate.