During Wednesday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James was assessed a flagrant foul for his hit on 76ers center Joel Embiid during the third quarter.
Joel Embiid was visibly in pain and went down hard on his back after being fouled.
LeBron was called for a flagrant 1 and Embiid stayed in the game. pic.twitter.com/LSOVsgVy5f
— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2021
Embiid actually was the recipient of two hits on his ill-fated attempt at a dunk, also getting hit slightly from behind by the Lakers’ Marc Gasol.
A flagrant-1 foul is defined as “unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent” and allows the fouled player to take two free throws and then gives possession to that player’s team.
Embiid missed Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons because of back tightness, with this latest hit no doubt aggravating the issue.
Given the pain that Embiid was clearly in, James will presumably be facing a fine from the league for his foul.
