On April 26, Beijing time, the NBA officially announced two fines. One for 76ers star Embiid and the other for Grizzlies coach Jenkins, both of whom were fined $15,000 each for the same reason, both publicly criticizing the referee.
Embiid repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee after the 76ers G4 lost to the Raptors. He first applauded at the end of the game, shouting "well done" to mock the referee.
Later, in a post-match press conference, Embiid said: "I feel like the referees are coming here to complete a task, their task is done, and it is done very well. Speaking about his applause, Embiid said: "I'm going to take the advice I've given myself and not complain about fouls. I admire the work they're doing today, and for me, they came here to accomplish something, and they did, so I'm going to congratulate them. ”
The late-quarter penalty decision of that game caused a heated discussion, and Siakam walked to the free throw line several times, and finally the 76ers lost to the Raptors on the road. So far in the playoffs, Embiid has averaged 26 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and he has a ligament tear on his right thumb, but he decided to stick to the playoffs before going to surgery. Embiid's annual salary this season is $31.57 million.
Grizzlies coach Jenkins also publicly criticized the referee in a post-game interview, saying, "In my opinion, this is one of the worst blow-off games I've seen in my NBA career, and I've never seen such a scale-up and arrogant blow-off before." "In that G4 game, the Grizzlies lost to the Timberwolves, and the aggregate score was pulled to a 2-2 draw. The ratio of fouls between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves was 33-23, the ratio of free throws was 25-40, and Jackson Jr. of the Grizzlies left the court with six fouls.
It is worth mentioning that Grizzlies player Dillon Brooks said before the penalty was issued that he would pay the fine for Jenkins. In an interview today, Jenkins commented on this, saying: "I wouldn't give him the opportunity [to pay the fine for me], which I appreciate, but he didn't have that opportunity." ”