A'ja Wilson and Snoop Dogg dish out priceless reactions to Joel Embiid's DX chop celebration
Team USA big man Joel Embiid brought out his famous DX chop celebration in their 2024 Paris Olympics quarterfinal win against Brazil on Tuesday. That had the crowd, including U.S. women's team member A'ja Wilson and hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg, hilariously reacting.
The Philadelphia 76ers superstar did his signature move late in the second quarter after finishing an and-1 play against the Brazilians in a game they dominated en route a 122-87 victory.
Joel Embiid, though, was not given a technical foul by the officials for executing the celebration, which originated from popular WWE tag team D-Generation X, or DX. In the NBA, though, the one-time league MVP is reprimanded every time he brings it out. He has been fined by the league twice for $60,000 for the move.
Among those who had a blast reacting to Embiid's celebration at the Olympics were Wilson and Snoop Dogg, who were courtside to catch the U.S.-Brazil game. Their reactions were caught in a photo shared by USA Basketball on its X page. Check out the photo below:
Apart from being a celebration, the DX chop is also considered a taunt directed at an opponent. Embiid's Team USA teammate Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves also does the move occasionally in the NBA.
Joel Embiid says he was just having fun in doing DX chop celebration against Brazil
Joel Embiid said that he was just having fun when he performed his DX chop celebration in Team USA's quarterfinal against Brazil. He made sure to highlight that, as the move had caught the attention of many.
The big man performed the playful taunt on an and-1 play late in the second quarter of the Brazil game, which they eventually won by 35 points, 122-87. Embiid explained the reason why he did the DX chop celebration (as per ESPN):
"Oh no, they still might find a way (to fine me), but that felt good. It's good to have fun, too, because at the end of the day, you got to take something out of this experience."
Against Brazil, Joel Embiid had one of his better games for Team USA, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes. Devin Booker led the way for the U.S. top-scoring with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and was followed by Anthony Edwards with 17.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Kevin Durant had 11 as he became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic basketball history (both men and women) with 494 points.
Joel Embiid and Team USA next battle reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Aug. 8.