Game 4 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks was an incredible contest, with both sides throwing haymakers at each other before the latter eventually took the 97-92 victory. However, rather than the big plays grabbing all the headlines, it is a seeming lowlight from former player Richard Jefferson that has grabbed attention on social media.
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During a Knicks possession during the game, Jalen Brunson went up for a layup, something he’d immediately regret. 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, in trying to defend, immediately clobbered him down. As many in attendance expected, the Philly man was immediately called for the foul. However, his reaction to the call made it clear that he vehemently believed the wrong decision was made.
Announcing the game, Jefferson couldn’t help but react to it immediately, announcing sarcastically that he only saw “marginal” contact. However, it appears that one fan wasn’t familiar with the former NBA player’s brand of comedy, instead believing that he was serious. Consequently, they [‘EverythingKnicks’] posted the following on X.
“”Marginal contact” are you kidding me Richard Jefferson????”
Clearly, a bit annoyed by the fan’s accusation of him, Richard Jefferson was forced to explain himself on social media. Expounding how it was a reference to a certain other playoff series, he also managed to roast the fan’s intellect.
“I was making a joke about the “marginal contact” from the Lakers Nuggets game against DLo. Sorry if it went over your head lol”
For the uninitiated, ‘RJ’ is referencing a similarly dangerous play made by Michael Porter Jr. during the series between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers, something that can be viewed in the X post by Clutchpoints below.
Again, as one might expect, ‘MPJ’ was immediately called for the foul. However, the Nuggets chose to challenge the call, saying that Porter got to the ball first, and had only made ‘marginal contact’ with the player. Shockingly, the officials agreed, something Lakers star LeBron James was infuriated by.
After the game, ‘The King’ questioned the integrity of ‘The Replay Center’ if they couldn’t get this seemingly obvious call right. Reacting to a clip of this statement, the Denver forward said the following.
“I definitely hit D’Lo [D’Angelo Russell] like a little bit. But the ref said it was like, ‘Marginal Contact’… It may have been a foul, but there was barely any contact.”
And thus, we come back to the beginning of this kerfuffle. Jefferson may not have given too much context in the moment he said it, but he was in no mood to apologize for it. And to be fair to him, if he did, it would only ruin the joke.
The 43-year-old has been a loud voice in NBA circles from the moment he retired from the league in 2018. So, he likely believes fans should be aware of his tongue-in-cheek comedy by now. And to be fair to him, he would be right on the money with it.
This is clearly on the fan for making a judgment without doing their research on the topic. And true to his character, Richard Jefferson had no problem whatsoever in calling them out for it.
