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Timberwolves Star Takes Page Out of Joel Embiid’s Book in Viral Video

Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards goes viral for celebrating like Joel Embiid.

Justin Grasso

Dec 20, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5)
Dec 20, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are finding plenty of success in the 2024 NBA Playoffs so far. With three games down in their series against the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota is one win away from a first-round sweep after collecting a 126-109 win on Friday night.

As Minnesota took care of business, their star guard Anthony Edwards made a motion that’s quite familiar to Philadelphia 76ers fans, as the star center Joel Embiid has acted it out many times over the last few seasons.

Inspired the wrestling stable, DX, Edwards did the crotch chop motion amidst his 36-point performance against the Suns.

A few seasons ago, Embiid adopted the celebration anytime he successfully knocked down a bucket while getting a foul called beforehand.

The Sixers’ big man landed attention from WWE legend, Triple H, which led to a pregame collaboration during the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Before the Sixers hosted the Atlanta Hawks for Game 1, Embiid rang the bell with Triple H with the DX theme playing in the arena.

The celebration was consistent over the years. Unfortunately for Embiid, it landed him in some trouble with the league.

Back in October, Embiid was hit with a $35,000 fine after he did the celebration in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The NBA described it as an “obscene gesture.”

Since then, Embiid has had a couple of fake-outs with the celebration.

Edwards might find himself in a similar position soon. Considering he went viral for the celebration on Friday night, the NBA could hit the Timberwolves star with a similar punishment in the coming days.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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