The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had Joel Embiid to start the 2024-25 NBA season. Embiid missed all of the preseason, and when the first game of the year rolled around, the team said he was out with “left knee management” — the Sixers star dealt with left knee issues that limited him to only 39 games last season, and while he was able to play in the Olympics, he hasn’t taken the floor since.
It’s led to Embiid getting a ton of criticism. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal both hit him pretty hard on TNT, while one column by a local reporter — titled “Joel Embiid disrespects the Sixers, the game, its greats, and himself. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are right to rip him.” — seemed to especially rub him the wrong way, which he made clear while speaking to the media on Friday.
“It was never decided,” Embiid told the press when asked when it was decided that he’d slow play his debut this year. “Like I said, everybody has been on the same page. If your body doesn’t react well, and if your body tells you one thing — I’ve done it. From what I can tell you, I’ve broken my face twice, I came back early with the risk of losing my vision, I’ve had broken fingers, I still came back. So, I’m not gonna sit here and be like … When I see people saying he doesn’t want to play. I’ve done way too much for this city, putting myself at risk for people to be saying that. So, I do think it’s bullsh*t. Like that dude, he’s not here, Marcus, whatever his name is, I’ve done way too much for this f*cking city to be treated like this. Done way too f*cking much.
“But, like I said, I wish I was as lucky as other ones, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not doing whatever it takes to be out there, which I’m gonna be here pretty soon.”
Earlier this week, the NBA fined the Sixers $100,000 for how it approached the Embiid injury situation.