Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James committed a hard foul on Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, which left the big man grimacing in pain.
With the intention of trying to prevent the easy slam, James pushed Embiid with both hands near the midway mark of the third quarter. After a review, the referees slapped James with a flagrant foul.
This is James' first flagrant foul since 2014 and the sixth in his career.
Embiid has been suffering from lower back problems as of late. He missed the Sixers' loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday due to lower back tightness. Fortunately, Embiid was able to shake the cobwebs off on Wednesday after the hard foul from the Lakers forward. Let's see how it will impact Embiid in the long run, though, as the big man carries a considerable weight which fell straight to the floor.
As the numbers reveal, it's a rare sight to see James committing a hard foul. The Lakers star, throughout his 18-year career, has never received a âdirty playerâ tag. And usually, it's him who's on the receiving end of a hard foul.
Be as it may, there was clearly no malice on James' part. Embiid is just a beast when he gets inside the paint. James and the Lakers were just trying their best to stop the Cameroonian.