The NBA penalized Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers with a $50,000 fine for his " lewd gesture " during the game between the Sixers and the Celtics that ended in a score of 109-108 against the latter. In the first half of the game, Embiid turned one of the Celtics' foul shots into three by making the famous and very well-known Degeneration X chop celebration seen for years.
Embiid was fined heavily by the NBA in retaliation, although he has already lost as much money from the same celebration. When Embiid makes a significant play on the floor, he is highly expressive. Every time he makes a significant play on the court, he always celebrates in some way, especially when he uses the DX "suck it" chop.
Joel Embiid responds to NBA fine with humor and defiance after Celtics game controversy
On Sunday, the NBA announced that Joel Embiid would be punished by a fine of $50,000 for the obscene gesture he made during the game against Boston on Friday night. The punishment was confirmed by James Jones, the league's executive vice president.
At the 7:08 mark of the first quarter against the Celtics, Embiid made a basket and was fouled followed by a chopping movement to his groin. Embiid has already been fined for the signal four times at minimum: initially $75,000 in December 2024, later $35,000 in October 2023, and lastly $25,000 in January 2023.
It doesn't appear that Embiid will stop using the gesture anytime soon, even if the NBA may continue to fine him for it. The main post announcing the fine, read:
“NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2025 - Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $50,000 for making a lewd gesture on the playing court, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter of the 76ers' 109-108 loss to the Boston Celtics on Oct. 31 at Xfinity Mobile Arena…”
After that, Embiid used Twitter to communicate with the NBA about his fine. He noted that when officials make blocking calls on the floor, they use a similar motion.
“Yall better start fining the refs for doing the “Lewd”, “blocking foul” gesture since I’m not allowed to do it #NFL..”
Embiid then punctuated his message to the league with another tweet. To support his argument, he shared a GIF of an official making that gesture.
Joel Embiid channels his inner Triple H as Sixers gear up for road trip without their star center
Triple H, a member of D-Generation X, helped introduce Embiid and the Sixers in the postseason in previous years since Embiid has made the crotch chop a fairly frequent part of his celebrating arsenal.
Even with the league fining him twice in 2023 for using the same celebration, Embiid isn't retiring the move. Considering he loves playing the heel, it's not a surprise that Embiid would use a wrestling celebration as his go-to action after a big play.
Embiid talked about how much he loved wrestling as a kid, especially Triple H and all of DX.
"There's no secret that Triple H is my guy," Embiid said in 2023. "Obviously, DX, when I used to watch wrestling, those were my guys. Any time I get the chance, I haven't done it in a while so I just felt like it was a good and-1. I got the ball, I didn't even see the rim, and I felt like it was deserving of a good celebration."
Meanwhile, With Embiid out, the Sixers will play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday to start a three-game road trip. He will probably make a comeback on Tuesday when the Sixers play the Chicago Bulls after being sidelined due to a left knee ailment.
Also read: Why is Joel Embiid sidelined tonight against the Magic? Latest injury update on the Philadelphia 76ers superstar
Embiid was fined heavily by the NBA in retaliation, although he has already lost as much money from the same celebration. When Embiid makes a significant play on the floor, he is highly expressive. Every time he makes a significant play on the court, he always celebrates in some way, especially when he uses the DX "suck it" chop.
Joel Embiid responds to NBA fine with humor and defiance after Celtics game controversy
On Sunday, the NBA announced that Joel Embiid would be punished by a fine of $50,000 for the obscene gesture he made during the game against Boston on Friday night. The punishment was confirmed by James Jones, the league's executive vice president.
At the 7:08 mark of the first quarter against the Celtics, Embiid made a basket and was fouled followed by a chopping movement to his groin. Embiid has already been fined for the signal four times at minimum: initially $75,000 in December 2024, later $35,000 in October 2023, and lastly $25,000 in January 2023.
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
It doesn't appear that Embiid will stop using the gesture anytime soon, even if the NBA may continue to fine him for it. The main post announcing the fine, read:
“NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2025 - Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $50,000 for making a lewd gesture on the playing court, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter of the 76ers' 109-108 loss to the Boston Celtics on Oct. 31 at Xfinity Mobile Arena…”
After that, Embiid used Twitter to communicate with the NBA about his fine. He noted that when officials make blocking calls on the floor, they use a similar motion.
“Yall better start fining the refs for doing the “Lewd”, “blocking foul” gesture since I’m not allowed to do it #NFL..”
Embiid then punctuated his message to the league with another tweet. To support his argument, he shared a GIF of an official making that gesture.
Joel Embiid channels his inner Triple H as Sixers gear up for road trip without their star center
Triple H, a member of D-Generation X, helped introduce Embiid and the Sixers in the postseason in previous years since Embiid has made the crotch chop a fairly frequent part of his celebrating arsenal.
Even with the league fining him twice in 2023 for using the same celebration, Embiid isn't retiring the move. Considering he loves playing the heel, it's not a surprise that Embiid would use a wrestling celebration as his go-to action after a big play.
Embiid talked about how much he loved wrestling as a kid, especially Triple H and all of DX.
"There's no secret that Triple H is my guy," Embiid said in 2023. "Obviously, DX, when I used to watch wrestling, those were my guys. Any time I get the chance, I haven't done it in a while so I just felt like it was a good and-1. I got the ball, I didn't even see the rim, and I felt like it was deserving of a good celebration."
Meanwhile, With Embiid out, the Sixers will play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday to start a three-game road trip. He will probably make a comeback on Tuesday when the Sixers play the Chicago Bulls after being sidelined due to a left knee ailment.
Also read: Why is Joel Embiid sidelined tonight against the Magic? Latest injury update on the Philadelphia 76ers superstar
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