The Philadelphia 76ers suffered their first loss of the year on Friday against the Boston Celtics, with the final score of 109-108. It was an important game for Joel Embiid and the 76ers, since it was the first game of the 2025 NBA In-Season Tournament. Even though it was against a familiar foe, Embiid was still on a minutes restriction and was on the court for only 25 minutes.
The Cameroonian center had a decent game, despite his limitations on the court. Embiid had 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. During the game, emotions were high, and it led the big man to taunt to get the crowd going. The 76ers star opted to use the taunt that the wrestling team “D-Generation X” often used, called the “DX chop.”
While the former NBA MVP used it to get the crowd on their feet and cheer, the league thought it was “lewd.” As a result, they fined Embiid $50,000 for choosing to make this gesture.
Joel Embiid wasn’t happy that he got fined for his gesture. On X (formerly Twitter), he called out the NBA to start issuing fines on referees for the action they use to call blocking fouls.
“Yall better start fining the refs for doing the ‘Lewd’, ‘blocking foul’ gesture since I’m not allowed to do it #NFL” Embiid posted on X.
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 isn’t the first time that Embiid has used the celebration on the court. In 2023, he was fined $25,000 for doing the action. WWE Hall of Famer and co-leader of the D-Generation X, Triple H, even offered to cover the fine.
“Curious, @JoelEmbiid… If you wrote a bigger check now, could you get a volume discount to cover the rest of the season?? #IllChipIn #SuckIt” the wrestler posted on X.
Fans thought there wasn’t anything wrong with Joel Embiid’s celebration
Fans have criticized Joel Embiid for not always being available, but this time they stood behind him. Many fans thought Embiid’s celebration wasn’t “lewd” and that the league was overreacting.
Here are some of what the fans said about the fine the seven-time All-Star received.
“Facts, why they hatin on the DX celly,” a fan said.
“As a Celtics fan, even I think the NBA fine on Embiid is soft. Rivalry & banter’s part of the game!” another fan said.
“embiid got fined for doing what refs do for free,” one fan posted.
embiid got fined for doing what refs do for free
— Scope360 (@Scope360Journal) November 3, 2025
“Haha, Joel, the NBA fining you for a crotch chop while refs do it for free every game? That’s peak “rules for thee but not for me” energy. ” someone commented.
“That deodorant roller head ass commissioner will burn for ruining the league I love,” a comment read.
“we got prime troel back this dude is definitely in his best mental state years,” one fan commented.
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Follow me on- X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
