Following the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss to the Miami Heat on Monday, the squad reportedly held a team meeting.
During the meeting, guard Tyrese Maxey allegedly challenged teammate Joel Embiid. Maxey reportedly called out the big man for frequently being late to things and how that impacts the locker room.
Embiid recently cleared the air about what transpired during the team meeting in question, but not before saying that whoever leaked the details of the meeting is a “real piece of s—.” He then said that his interaction with Maxey was blown out of proportion.
“We talked about a lot of things [during the meeting],” Embiid said Wednesday after a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. “I don’t want to get into the details, but that whole thing [with Maxey] probably took 30 seconds. But then again, it’s Joel Embiid, so we’ve got to make everything blown out of proportion.
“It’s whatever. I’ll take it all. I’m the reason for everything, so I’ll take the blame for everything.”
He spoke on his tight relationship with the 24-year-old as well and implied that they are able to have tough conversations because of the connection they have. Maxey, who is in his fifth season in the NBA and with the 76ers, has played with Embiid for the entirety of his NBA career.
“That’s the relationship we have — nothing malicious,” Embiid said. “I like when people are telling me what I’m not doing good, what I need to do better. Even though that part [the tardiness] maybe happened once or twice, when I wasn’t playing. …
“So I need to be better. I need to be perfect. I need to be on point, which I’m going to do. Which I’ve always done.”
Embiid admitted that he’s not a fan of the negativity permeating around the team. The 76ers have given folks reasons to be critical of the squad, however, as Philadelphia is 2-12 on the season and riding a five-game losing streak.
“It’s kind of annoying having to deal with the same things over and over and over,” Embiid said. “It’s been like that my whole career. All I try to do is focus on basketball, and trying to make the best living for my family, on and off the court.
“But it’s unbelievable. It just feels like negativity keeps following us, which I don’t understand why. But it is a shame, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve still all got to be better.”
After he put together a rocky first few games starting with his season debut against the New York Knicks on Nov. 12, Embiid looked like an MVP-caliber player against Memphis on Wednesday. He totaled 35 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and also pulled down 11 rebounds.
But a double-double from Embiid and a 20-point performance from rookie Jared McCain weren’t enough to snap the 76ers’ losing streak. In fact, Philadelphia has yet to earn a win since Embiid made his return to the court.
The 76ers would be a lottery team if the season ended today. Philadelphia has been a perennial playoff team in the Eastern Conference in recent years, as the last time the squad missed out on the playoffs came all the way back in 2017.
In order for the 76ers to get back on track, they first need to snap their losing streak. The team’s next chance to break its streak will come when it plays the Brooklyn Nets in an NBA Cup contest on Friday.
