Philadelphia star Joel Embiid fined $50,000 by NBA for making a lewd gesture during loss to the Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers endured a painful 108–109 defeat to the Boston Celtics in their NBA Cup matchup on Saturday (Sunday, Philippine Standard Time) at the Wells Fargo Center.

Adding to the Sixers’ heartbreak, star center Joel Embiid was fined $50,000 by the NBA for making a lewd gesture during the first quarter of the game. The incident occurred with 7:08 remaining in the opening period, moments after Embiid scored a basket while drawing a foul. The league deemed his celebratory chopping motion toward his groin to be inappropriate.

NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones announced the penalty in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying:

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“Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $50,000 for making a lewd gesture on the playing court. The incident occurred with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter of the 76ers’ 108–109 loss to the Boston Celtics.”

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

This marks the fourth time in Embiid’s career that he has been fined for a similar infraction. He was previously fined $75,000 in December 2024, $35,000 in October 2023, and $25,000 in January 2023 for comparable gestures.

The 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player voiced his frustration on social media, questioning the consistency of the league’s disciplinary standards.

“You all start fining the refs for doing the ‘lewd,’ ‘blocking foul’ gestures since I’m not allowed to do it,” Embiid wrote.

Despite the controversy, Embiid turned in a solid performance, finishing with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in approximately 25 minutes of action. Through four games this season, the 31-year-old is averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 22.3 minutes per game.

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