With 16.4 seconds left in regulation of Sunday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, Andrew Nembhard went to the free throw sequence to try to take Philadelphia’s lead 114-111. Embiid is also not hidden waving a towel in the background of the video below, and once Nembhard misses the first effort, the movement becomes more animated.
On Monday, the NBA gave Embiid a postgame technical foul for it.
If the technique had been known throughout the game, it might actually have meant quite a bit. Nembhard ignored the first free throw, but by making the second, he reduced the lack of discomfort to two things. If he had been given another one-technique free throw, he could have cut the foul to one level. That means a bit like Indiana fouled Kelly Oubre after Nembhard’s second shot and he ignored her first attempt in the sequence. He then made his second, Philadelphia had a three-point lead and was once ready to foul Aaron Nesmith, thus fighting off a game-tying three-point effort. If Philadelphia had only been up by two points, the 76ers should not have intentionally fouled and the Pacers could have acted to tie or win the game.
Instead, the technical foul was called when the game was already over. That kept it from affecting the outcome of the game itself, but it hits Embiid with a bit of an advantage. All technical fouls result in fines, with the first five of a player’s season costing $2,000. If a player reaches 16 technical fouls in a season, he will automatically be suspended for one game, so this after-the-fact call could throw off the sequence. For now, though, this simply lightens Embiid’s wallet a little.
Philadelphia returns to action on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. It remains to be seen whether Embiid will make his season debut that night or not.
