Charles Barkley threw shades at Joel Embiid for his performances at the Paris Olympics. The retired legend pointed out that the Games should be a wake-up call for the 2023 NBA MVP and urged him to take responsibility for his poor contribution.
During an appearance on Podcast P with the newest Sixers' addition, Paul George, Charles Barkley expressed serious concerns over Joel Embiid's unimpressive performances at the Paris Olympics.
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USA
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BrazilThe two-time Olympian blamed the Cameroonian-born center for his injury history and set the alarm clock for the 2023 NBA MVP.
"I hope this is a wake-up for Joel, this Olympic experience," the Hall of Famer stressed.
"He has not played well, and I'm hoping he's like, 'I got to get in better shape.' Because me, personally, I think that's one of the reasons he's always injured. I don't think he's in good enough shape.
But I think the way he's played, which is not good during the Olympics, should be a wake-up call for him, like, you know what? I got to get in better shape. I got to get healthy. Because if we don't win the championship, or go deep in the playoffs, it's going to be because of me," Barkley said on Podcast P.
Barkley, who won Olympic gold with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics and four years later in the 1996 Games in Atlanta, thinks Embiid should "take some responsibility" for the fact that "he hasn't played well in his Olympics games at all."
"You got to be a little bit embarrassed by the way you played," he emphasized.
Embiid is only averaging 9.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in two games with Team USA, after coming close to making scoring history in the past NBA season. Furthermore, he averaged 2.5 turnovers, the second most for his team.
George revealed he had a conversation with Embiid recently, where the two agreed that the role of an NBA star can be different once he's placed next to other star players.
"It's a different dynamic when you play Team USA," George, who also won gold with Team USA in the 2016 Olympics noted.
"It's a deferring thing that he's going through. There's so much talent on the floor. When I played on that 2016 team, my mindset was more so geared towards, 'I'm going to pick dudes up 94 feet, like I'm going to pressure the hell out of whoever I'm guarding.'
I don't do that in the NBA, but I can't do all the things I usually do in the NBA. But I got the energy now to do it here. So, that was my conversation with him. "Man, find a way to stay engaged and challenge yourself in a different way than you would do in the NBA."
Barkley concurred, drawing from his own experience.
"Paul, you're 100% correct," he said.
"I've been blessed to play on two Olympic teams, and they're not going to walk the ball up and down the court and give it to you, no matter how great you are.
So, you got to find a way to help the team win. For me, it was like, 'Ok, let me play a little bit defense which wasn't my strong suit. Let me get a bunch of rebounds which I love to do anyway, and when the ball comes to me, be ready."
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