Sixers commentator under fire for controversial take after Embiid's hard foul
The Thunder hosted the Sixers last night in a game that wasn't really on anyone's radar, as Philly came into the game as favorites and walked away with the easy win. There wouldn't be too much talk around it if not for the comments made late in the game by Sixers commentator Alaa Abdelnaby after a hard foul by Joel Embiid on the rookie Josh Giddey.
Routine win for the Sixers
The Sixers came into the game against the young Thunder as clear-cut favorites, as they are still one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference even without Ben Simmons. On the other hand, the Thunder have a bunch of talent, but they are still in full rebuild mode and tanking in hopes of finding gems with their countless draft picks.
However, the Thunder still put up a valiant effort and battled through the whole game, but the Sixers' experience and quality were too much to overcome for Oklahoma's finest, as the Sixers took the 115-103 road win and improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Thunder remained winless at 0-3. Seth Curry led the way for the Sixers with 28 points, and Embiid had his standard great night (22p,9r,6a), while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on the other end, carried the Thunder with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Sixers commentator under fire for controversial take late in the game
Like said before, not too much would be said on this game today, but the Sixers color commentator Alaa Abdelnaby made news after a pretty controversial take that angered a lot of NBA fans. After Embiid tried to chase down the Australian rookie Giddey and fouled him into the stanchion, only for both of them to fall dangerously, Abdelanby seems pretty mad with the fact Giddey tried to run the fastbreak.
The question would be: Why are you still running fastbreaks? If you don't want to play hard, why are you running hard? 76ers just keeping up with people. Joel's just not giving up the easy two, Abdelanby said.
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He went on to even turn it up and say this outrageous statement:
"I'm just worried about him (Embiid) when he falls. No offense to Giddey, I could care less. But this guy (Embiid), you don't want to see him fall awkwardly, because you're worried as a Sixers fan."
Alaa Abdelnaby, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Abdelanby would continue his unexplainable rant for a minute, with his partner in the booth Kate Scott agreeing with him.
The reactions
That take obviously stirred up a bunch of reactions in the NBA world, as fans couldn't believe a team announcer could make such a cold-blooded statement. It's wrong on so many levels.
Firstly blaming Giddey for trying to get a fastbreak score and possibly help his team come back because it made Joel Embiid have to play defense and jump. Then worrying solely about your own player even though Embiid got straight up, while Giddey showed obvious signs of pain. Hitting the stanchion is no joke; just remember Paul George's horrible leg injury form back in 2014. When you add that Embiid weighs about 70 lbs more than Giddey, you can understand why the rookie was shaken up.
I know Embiid is one of the biggest stars in the league and very injury-prone, but that is no excuse to blatantly disrespect another player and disregard his health. Sure OKC is not a big market or contender right now, and Giddey has not made a name for himself yet, but everyone deserves the same treatment.
To make things worse, Abdelnaby is a former NBA player, so he should know a thing or two about the importance of health and looking after your peers on the court. An apology and statement from the Sixers and Abdelnaby are probably coming soon, as there is no place for this kind of comments. Stay classy!
