Joel Embiid was putting his body to use earlier today. Considering the big man’s nagging injuries, it’s something that he should probably refrain from. Anyway, the Milwaukee Bucks had a tough time on the court, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time this season. Even though Damian Lillard orchestrated a convincing win, the Cameroonian big emerged as a problem. No, I am not referring to his 27-12-6 effort but his violent physicality on the court.

The big man conceded 5 turnovers and collected 4 personal fouls in his 30-minute stay. Most of it came out of his unnecessary physicality on the court. However, on a particular occasion, the refs failed to notice the obvious and made a blunder, siding with the former MVP.

Around the 2-minute mark in the second quarter, Joel Embiid passed the ball to Kelly Oubre Jr. at the corner from the perimeter and tried to enter the paint. Bucks’ Taurean Prince, who was guarding the 30-year-old, attempted to block him with his body. Embiid, sensing the opportunity, rammed his body over Prince and flopped. Notably, he extended his arm and slammed the defender’s back before taking the fall.

Guess what should have been the call? Offensive foul, right? No, the ref blew the whistle and slapped a personal foul on Prince. And Embiid added salt to the injury, dropping 2 free throws on that play. Well, mistakes do happen, but let’s find out how the internet reacts to the refs’ blunder.

Joel Embiid’s ugly act ignites internet wildfire

Firstly, some of the fans aren’t surprised at all. There are a few offensive machines that survive on FTs. James Harden was the pioneer of this back in his historic 2018/2019 season, where he averaged 43.6 ppg in January. In the modern era of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, shooting fouls have once again become an easy option for buckets. Joel Embiid has also been a frequent customer at the FT line. However, on this occasion, the star didn’t even have the ball in his hand and tried to sell a foul with a flop. Well, I didn’t say this, the internet does.

A fan reacting to the viral video wrote, “That’s how he plays the game. Flopping to get calls, he sells it to the ref and they buy it every time.” It was a double shot. One at the baller for flopping and another at the refs for not standing with the obvious. Adding on it, a fan decided to teach a science lesson to the refs, writing, “Refs should study physics before they ref, almost 300 pound object moving at a higher speed than 200 pound object can’t flop.” 

Another fan went a bit deeper and wrote, “If there’s no whistle I guarantee he argues with the ref smh.” Embiid and his arguments are never-ending. Most recently, during the Spurs’ visit to Philly, the big man received an offensive foul for barging into Wemby’s body. Following that, he pursued the ref and aggressively argued. The result? He was ejected with a back-to-back tech.

Moving away from the refs for a bit, a fan noticed Kelly Oubre Jr.’s reaction from the corner. He definitely didn’t seem impressed with the play. Pointing that out, a fan wrote, “Even kelly oubre is embarrassed by this.” Not many days ago, Embiid and Oubre engaged in a heated argument on the bench. Well, the reaction could be an extension of that.

On the other hand, a fan wrote, “He wouldn’t have made it in this league during the ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s,” referring to the physicality that existed back in the day. Do you think he can survive Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman of the 80s and 90s? Let us know in the comments below.