TNT analyst Charles Barkley shared his comments on the Philadelphia 76ers drama, saying there’s no excuse for Joel Embiid’s “disrespectful” tardiness.
The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a rough start to the season.
They suffered injuries to their main stars and are currently one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Plus, reports of their team meeting surfaced, saying that Tyrese Maxey called out Joel Embiid for his lack of professionalism.
TNT analyst Charles Barkley said Embiid should be more responsible as a leader of the team.
“You can't be late all the time. That's disrespectful to your teammates and your coaches and everybody. You can't be late. Joel has to own that,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA.
Barkley also pointed out that whoever fed the information of that meeting to the media should be reprimanded.
“But whoever leaked that to the press needs to be punched in the face. In a team meeting, those are secrets. You can't tell out secrets in a team meeting. When you're in those meetings, they're very personal, especially when you call out a guy like that. Joel has to own being late all the time, but that should have never gotten to the press.”
Maxey, in a report by Sports Illustrated’s Justin Grasso, has maintained that he has been in constant communication with Embiid, amid the team drama.
“I talk to Jo every day—multiple times a day—I just talked to him right after the game. He just kept trying to keep his spirits high. It’s hard, you know?” Maxey said of Embiid, who has struggled to keep healthy so far this season.
“It’s difficult. Man, like that guy, he loves basketball. He wants to play basketball every single day. Like, if he could play all 82 games and every single game in the playoffs, I promise you, he would. That’s just the type of guy he is. A competitor. He wants to win, and still, even now, he believes in his teammates.”
The Sixers currently own a 3-13 record.
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