Add Charles Barkley to the growing list of people weighing in on Joel Embiid’s flagrant foul on Thursday night after many compared the 76ers star’s actions to Draymond Green’s flagrant against the Kings three nights prior.
Embiid received a Flagrant 1 foul early in Thursday’s Game 3 in Brooklyn after kicking Nets forward Nic Claxton between the legs after he tried to step over him. Embiid staying in the game after the seemingly egregious kick led many to wonder if his actions warranted an ejection–and possible suspension–after Green was tagged with a Flagarant 2 and subsequent one-game suspension for stepping on the chest of Kings star Domantas Sabonis Monday night.
During the Inside the NBA halftime show, Barkley offered his blunt opinion on both plays as the crew re-examined Thursday’s moment. And, as you’d probably expect, the always-outspoken analyst didn’t hold back with his take, saying he believed Embiid’s kick was “worse” than Green’s stomp and should’ve led to an ejection because he “tried to kick a guy in his junk.”
“I thought he should’ve been ejected,” Barkley said. “I thought that was a Flagrant 2, I think his was worse than Draymond’s, to be honest with you. … You know what he was trying to do. Listen, we all have our own opinion, I thought he tried to kick him in his private parts. He should’ve gotten ejected, that’s just my personal opinion.”
Charles Barkley on Joel Embiid’s kick:
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 21, 2023
“I think his was worse than Draymond's, to be honest with you.”
pic.twitter.com/zfGu6rcySj
While it remains to be seen if Embiid faces additional punishment, the MVP frontrunner, for the time being, has avoided the same fate as Green. Of course, that could change if the NBA decides, a la Green, that Embiid’s past and/or the nature of the flagrant warrants a heavier penalty.
Based on his opinion, Barkley appears to believe the latter would be the right outcome in the name of fairness, even though the league may not ultimately agree.
