Despite not playing in Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers, Sixers star Joel Embiid has been assessed a postgame technical foul, the league announced Monday evening.
Embiid was seen waiving a towel a few steps removed from his seat on the bench as Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard attempted a free throw late in the overtime period. The NBA would shortly after release the Last Two Minute (L2M) Report, which noted the occurrence with the following note,
“Embiid (PHI) waves a towel on the bench in an attempt to disconcert the free throw shooter. A technical foul should have been assessed.”
Why this was not addressed during the game seems to be as simple as the officiating crew missing the occurrence. Nembhard would miss the free throw, and the Sixers would win the close matchup.
Three games into the season, Joel Embiid has officially earned his first stat, without even taking the court.
