Amir Johnson brought a cell phone to the bench and showed Joel Embiid text messages during Philadelphia’s playoff game against Brooklyn on Saturday. It was one of the most bizarre sequences we’ve seen in a basketball game, and ESPN’s camera crew caught it, with Doris Burke absolutely blasting Johnson for his actions.
Two 76ers really just snuck a cell phone to the bench in the middle of a playoff game
During a playoff game, no less. “It’s completely unacceptable.”
For more context, this was midway through the fourth quarter when the Sixers trailed 14 points. They went on to lose to Brooklyn — a No. 6 seed in the East — 111-102 in Game 1, despite boasting four players who either made or should have made the All-Star Game. Johnson did not play a second of this game. Embiid battled through injury, but attempted to dominate every minute he was on the floor.
Johnson was later pulled from the bench and sent to the locker room. Using a cellphone while on the bench is a violation of the NBA’s Operations Manual. Johnson will likely either be fined or suspended a game.
Embiid gave context to the incident after the game.
Through the 76ers, Johnson released a statement after the game:
Johnson distracting Embiid with text messages is exactly why cellphones are prohibited. As a veteran on the team, that move was unacceptable.
That didn’t stop fans from getting their jokes off at Johnson and Embiid’s expense.
We may have seen the last of Amir Johnson in Philly.
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