The 2-11 Philadelphia 76ers held a team meeting on Monday night where Tyrese Maxey called out Joel Embiid for always being late for everything. It was a shocking development and The Athletic’s Sam Amick is now reporting what Maxey is said to have told Embiid during that exchange.
“Joel, you know I love you. But it starts with you, and your habits.”
I applaud Maxey for keeping it real with Embiid but the fact that this much information has come out isn’t ideal. We only tend to get some vague details about team meetings but that’s not the case here.
What also is far from ideal is how Embiid has reportedly been carrying himself. The 30-year-old comes off as very unprofessional and you wonder how long he has been acting in this manner. If this has been going on for years, the 76ers organization deserves some criticism for allowing him to get away with it for a long period of time.
It’ll be very interesting to see how Embiid reacts to all of this. Reports indicated that the seven-time All-Star accepted the messages that were sent in the meeting but his play and attitude on the court will be the real indicator of how he has taken all of this.
This 2024-25 season certainly hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start for Embiid. The 2023 MVP missed the first nine games due to injury and a suspension and when he finally got to step out on the court, he struggled.
Embiid has averaged 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 2024-25. He has shot just 32.4% from the field and 15.4% from beyond the arc. There haven’t really been any positive signs when it comes to his play, but I’d assume he will get going soon enough.
As for Maxey, who has averaged 27.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2024-25, he could make a return to the court soon as well. The 24-year-old suffered a hamstring strain in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 6 and has been on the sidelines ever since.
Maxey has been upgraded to questionable on the 76ers’ injury report for their next game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum on Wednesday at 8 PM ET. Embiid, meanwhile, isn’t on the report at all, so we could potentially see him, Maxey and Paul George play together for the 76ers for the first time tonight.
If this Big 3 can stay relatively healthy the rest of the way, the 76ers should be able to turn things around but that is a big if. You can’t be too optimistic about Embiid and George’s health considering how often their bodies have broken down over the years.
History is also not on the 76ers’ side here. A total of 105 teams in NBA history started a season 2-11 or worse before this campaign and of them, only eight made the playoffs. None of them won a championship and that was the expectation of this team coming into the season.
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