As far as we know, Lonzo Ball and Joel Embiid don’t have any beef — but it didn’t look like it on Saturday night.
At some point during the middle of the game, Embiid got hyped after making a bucket, swinging his fist in celebration.
The problem was that Lonzo Ball’s face was in the landing zone and would have been hit had ‘Zo not dodged the swing at the last moment.
Check out the clip:
wow that was close https://t.co/XXGJ4PjwkZ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 7, 2021
Since nobody was hurt during this ordeal, the NBA community shared a good laugh about it, poking fun at just how close Joel Embiid was to punching his competitor square in the face.
Lavar comin for his ass pic.twitter.com/K5t1aCyOXW
— HiImRanier (@Ranier7Sicat) November 7, 2021
at this moment Lonzo’s life flashed before his eyes 😂 pic.twitter.com/CAYadEhcoO
— Matthew Cone | Arizona Videographer & Editor (@conesgraphix) November 7, 2021
https://twitter.com/BagroomB/status/1457154155727007746
Embiid thought he was Ben LMAOO
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) November 7, 2021
— Bouka Doncic (@BoukaDoncic) November 7, 2021
https://twitter.com/Leek2Smoov/status/1457161122025394183
Definitely wasn’t on purpose but if that landed… 😳
— lij (@doc_szn) November 7, 2021
right thru his hair 😅😅😅😅 pic.twitter.com/5P5GjhVVFq
— Dustyn W (@CallMeDBlock) November 7, 2021
This is hardly the first time something like this has happened. Whether by wild celebration moves, carelessness, or just freak circumstances, there have been incidents throughout NBA history where a player makes contact with another unintentionally (or, at least seemingly unintentionally).
One example is the famous Metta World Peace celebration, in which he elbows James Harden in the face. Of course, there are still debates about whether or not that act was accidental.
While it does not involve contact with one person to another, another example is the time Austin Rivers accidentally beamed LeBron James with a basketball in the back of the head.
James looked pretty steamed before Rivers revealed it was unintentional.
Needless to say, things like this happen so it’s really nothing to get worked up about.
Had Lonzo not swerved that fist, though, things could have ended much, much differently. Even without intent, receiving a punch from Joel Embiid (who is easily over 250 pounds) would not feel great at all.
So, it was a close call and the game was able to proceed like normal.
But, hopefully, we’ll see these two teams face off again in the East playoffs. As two of the powerhouses in the Conference, they would make one hell of a series.
