Joel Embiid has always been outspoken, but his latest comments may be his most revealing yet. Nearly a year after a confidential locker room meeting was leaked to the media, Embiid is speaking out about the situation—and hinting that the mole may still be on the team.
Joel Embiid: “I know who leaked it.”
Dotun Akintoye: “You do?”
Joel Embiid: “Yeah, but I’m not going to [say], the past is the past. The one thing I’ll say is, it’s hard being around people who do those sorts of stuff. That goes back to the trust thing. Once you cross that, you can’t expect me to be a part of a team meeting again. That’s not going to happen.”
Dotun Akintoye: “The way you’re talking, it sounds like this person is still around…”
Joel Embiid: “I don’t know.”
Things reached a breaking point in Philly last season when a secret players’ only meeting was leaked to the media. The story begins in November of 2024, after a poor 2–11 start prompted the 76ers to hold a closed-door meeting requested by Kyle Lowry to address internal issues, including discipline and overall team effort. It was an emotional and candid exercise that was never meant to be made public.
In a shocking development, however, the story got out. Veteran reporter Shams Charania leaked the scoop and revealed that Tyrese Maxey had publicly called out Joel Embiid for being “late for everything”, a critique that captivated national media.
Embiid was furious at the whole ordeal, and labeled the leaker as a “real piece of s‑t,” while claiming the entire incident was “blown out of proportion” and violated the privacy of a team space. Paul George also publicly called out the leaker on his podcast.
Now, Joel is claiming that he knew who leaked the meeting, but he isn’t willing to say. His reaction to the question does indicate that this person is still on the team, suggesting that there may be some internal division within the locker room. At the very least, there’s a major lack of trust given that Embiid will no longer attend these impromptu team meetings.
For a team that’s already struggling to keep up in the East, this is like a borderline death sentence for the 76ers. Besides a shocking lack of chemistry together, the locker room is now completely fractured as players are hesitant to form relationships with each other.
Unless the leaker gets traded or released before next season, Embiid will have no choice but to play nice and leave the past behind. As one of the best bigs in the league (27.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for his career), he has a chance to bring prosperity to the 76ers, but it’s going to be on his terms.
Joel Embiid is still at the peak of his powers and one of the most dominant forces in the NBA. But no superstar can win alone, and trust issues in the locker room could sink the Sixers’ hopes before they even get off the ground. If Philadelphia wants to compete in the East, they’ll need to fix their culture fast… or risk losing their franchise cornerstone for good.
