Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said a recent report claiming LeBron James criticized him for being late to practice "is not true" and left him wondering why he faces such outside scrutiny. Speaking after his preseason debut in Philadelphia's 114-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night, Embiid said the story never happened and that he has no idea where it came from.
The report traces back to the fourth quarter of the Sixers' 120-97 win over the New York Knicks on Monday, when longtime play-by-play announcer Mike Breen said on the MSG Networks broadcast that he had heard LeBron James reacted harshly after Embiid walked onto the court a couple of minutes late. James called the report "lies" on Instagram on Tuesday, and Breen later apologized.
"One, it is not true, but then again, it's like, 'Why me?'" Embiid said. "I guess I'm Joel Embiid. I've been in that situation. I don't usually talk when it comes to those [rumors]. So, it feels like I'm an easy target." He stressed that the team must stay together and focus on itself despite the outside noise.
On the court, Embiid struggled against the Nets, scoring eight points on 1-for-5 shooting with three rebounds, three assists and eight turnovers in 24 minutes. He acknowledged the need to take better care of the ball, noting that the preseason is a time of adjustment and that his early games are often like this every year.
Embiid said it will take a few games to get going and that he must do a better job moving forward.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing