February 25, 2020
Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid dropped a career-high 49 points to go along with 14 rebounds in Monday night's win over the Atlanta Hawks.
There was an odd dance of sportsmanship in the final seconds of the game, when Embiid had an opportunity to go over 50 points.
With the shot clock unplugged and the Sixers up double digits, Embiid dribbled up court and was chased down from behind by Hawks guard Kevin Huerter, who stole the ball. Embiid gave him the middle finger, which he later apologized for during a post-game interview with Serena Winters.
Joel Embiid was feeling good after dropping a career-high 49 pts. Was all prepared to dribble out the clock & gloat. Then Kevin Huerter came along & stole the ball. Embiid flipped him the bird, then, after realizing he got caught up, apologized. pic.twitter.com/NvOteE3mRC
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 25, 2020
Firstly, and most importantly, let's salute Sixers broadcaster Alaa Abdelnaby for pointing out that Embiid got "Leon Letted," which is an excellent comparison.
Back to the Sixers and Hawks: after the game, Atlanta reporters asked Huerter what he thought about the middle finger from Embiid. He didn't see it, but he wasn't happy with the idea.
Huerter said he didn't see Embiid give him the finger.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) February 25, 2020
"There were 23 seconds left in the game. I don't know what he wants. If he did, I'm not gonna speak on that. It's not out of his character I guess."
Why'd he steal?
"There was a full shot clock left. I'm going to play."
Embiid was later asked for clarification about what happened there, according to USA Today. He saw no point in Huerter extending the game, and when he got the ball back on the Sixers' final possession, he simply dribbled out the clock.
“I feel like you should just be like ‘be better next time’,” Embiid said. “I thought about it when I had the ball again, but I was like ‘I’m going to stay cool’, but I feel like it should go both ways. If the team up by 20 is running the clock off, I feel like the other team should also respect it and we just moved on. It is what it is, we got the win."
It's possible that when Huerter saw Embiid take the ball up court, he figured Embiid would try to score just to pad his stats. Embiid could easily have done so on the following possession, but it might have gotten ugly or reflected badly on him.
As far as Embiid's character is concerned, he did say recently he wanted to be a "good a**hole." He wasn't necessarily a bad one here.
Embiid's apology may be enough to keep the NBA off his back, but last season Anthony Davis was fined $15,000 for giving the middle finger to a fan. If Embiid receives a letter, at least it won't come as a surprise.
