Joel Embiid gets flagrant 1 in Game 3 of Sixers-Nets after kicking Nic Claxton

It didn’t take long for tensions to flare in Game 3 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night. Just three minutes into the game, Sixers superstar Joel Embiid was assessed a flagrant 1 foul after kicking Nicolas Claxton. The Nets center was given a technical foul for stepping over Embiid, but let’s rewind a bit to see how we got here.

The skirmish was caused after Claxton caught a lob pass from Mikal Bridges and dunked on Embiid. As Embiid fell to the ground, Claxton stepped over the big man, and as he was doing so, the Sixers big man extended his leg upwards and kicked Claxton. Players from both teams swarmed to stop the incident from going any further, and after a review of the play officials gave Embiid a flagrant 1. 

It’s somewhat surprising Embiid wasn’t given a harsher penalty, especially after what happened in Game 2 between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors in which Draymond Green was ejected from that game after stepping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest. Green was later suspended by the league for Game 3. 

This situation is slightly different, but you could argue that Embiid’s kick appeared worse given he wasn’t tangled up with Claxton. It’ll be interesting to hear Embiid’s thoughts on the matter after the game, and if the league hands down any punishment of their own.