Joel Embiid picked up a flagrant foul after the final buzzer had already sounded, with the NBA ruling that the Philadelphia 76ers center kicked Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham during Wednesday’s 112-106 Philadelphia win. The contact happened in the first quarter and drew no whistle in real time, but it didn’t escape a league review once the game was over.
According to Yahoo Sports, the play occurred at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter while Embiid was attempting a three-pointer. No foul was called on the court at the time, and the kick only resulted in a penalty after the NBA’s postgame review assessed Embiid a Flagrant 1. Cunningham played through it, finishing the night with 26 points and 11 assists while shooting just 1-for-9 from three-point range, per the same outlet.
Embiid’s night included more than one dustup. The same Yahoo Sports report notes he was also whistled for a technical foul in-game for shoving Detroit’s Tolu Smith under the basket with 1:25 left in the first half, a separate flashpoint from the flagrant call tied to Cunningham.
How the NBA Defines a Flagrant 1
Under league rules, a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 is defined as unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent, according to NBA Official. Referees can turn to replay review when they aren’t reasonably certain whether a foul meets that threshold, and officials reviewing a play can determine whether the original call should stand, get upgraded to a Flagrant 1 or Flagrant 2, or be reclassified as a technical foul.
The league’s flagrant foul system also carries real consequences for repeat offenders. A Flagrant 2 results in an automatic ejection, and so does picking up two Flagrant 1 fouls in the same game, per NBA Official’s published guidance on the review process. That framework is the same one that turned Embiid’s uncalled first-quarter contact with Cunningham into an after-the-fact penalty once league officials took a closer look at the Wednesday matchup in Detroit.
As first noted by MLive, the two teams play at Little Caesars Arena, where Detroit also fell to Philadelphia after previously beating the 76ers in Philadelphia on Oct. 25 — a game Embiid missed due to injury. The Pistons and 76ers are scheduled to meet once more in the regular season, in Philadelphia on Feb. 5.
