Orlando Magic star Noah Penda has sparked controversy after appearing to mimic cocaine use in a handshake with one of his teammates.
Before the Magic’s NBA playoff game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, NBC cameras spotted the French forward, 21, carrying out a bizarre pregame handshake with Goga Bitadze in the tunnel at Kia Center.
The pair initially slapped hands and rubbed the top of their arms in a shivering gesture before the performance took an outrageous turn.
It was at that point when Penda took the palm of Bitadze’s right hand, pretended to chop something up on it and bent over to simulate sniffing something while shaking his head.
Bitadze, 26, seemed completely unfazed by the drug-themed handshake before Penda moved on to engage with two other players.
Footage of the shocking moment, shared by Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann, has been viewed over 351,000 times on X at the time of writing.
Orlando Magic star Noah Penda appeared to mimic cocaine use in a pregame handshake
Penda, who is in his first year with the Magic, has gone viral after NBC spotted the handshake
Fans were left stunned by Penda’s apparent cocaine reference, including one who wrote: ‘Brother WHAT’.
‘That’s wilddddd,’ said another.
‘Nah this is crazy,’ a third user posted.
While one even went as far to say: ‘Maybe I’m too strict but: off the team. Immediately’.
The Magic went on to secure a 94-88 win in Orlando, extending their lead in the first-round series to 3-1. It means they can progress to the Conference Semifinals with a victory in Detroit on Wednesday.
Penda is in his first season with the team after they traded up to acquire his draft rights from the Boston Celtics last year, before he was selected with the 32nd overall pick.
Georgia center Bitadze, meanwhile, has spent the last three years with the Magic after a five-year stint with the Indiana Pacers.
