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The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a disastrous start to the 2024-25 NBA season and it looks like things could get even worse before they start to get better. Philly is 2-11, tied for the worst record in the league with the Washington Wizards. All three of their All-Star players — Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey — have missed games due to injuries.
And perhaps most worryingly of all, Embiid has looked like a shell of himself in the three games he has played in. The former NBA MVP is averaging just 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and the Sixers have lost each game.
Now Shams Charania of ESPN reports that Maxey called out Embiid over some worrisome work habits during a recent team meeting.
“Maxey challenged Embiid to be on time to team activities, calling out the 2022-23 league MVP about being late ‘for everything’ and how it impacts the locker room, from other players to the coaching staff, sources briefed on the meeting told ESPN,” Charania wrote.
A team source also told Charania that while Embiid and Maxey are close, Embiid’s lateness and recent work habits have been the “elephant in the room.”
The meeting comes just two weeks after Embiid had a physical altercation with Philadelphia media member Marcus Hayes. Embiid reportedly shoved Hayes, who had previously made an off-color remark about Embiid’s son and his brother Arthur, who passed away in 2014.
“Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his basketball career,” Hayes wrote. “He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er. Well, in order to be great at your job, you first have to show up for work.”
Embiid told Hayes that if he mentions his son or brother again, the repercussions will be worse. It’s hard to blame him for his anger in that situation. But it appears he’s struggling mightily to be fully invested in the Sixers while they already watch their season slip away.