Joel Embiid absolutely ripped into the rumors of a practice spat with LeBron James, telling reporters straight up it’s “not true” after the Sixers played the Brooklyn Nets. The superstar center wasn’t holding back, calling himself an “easy target” and making it clear this kind of “outside noise” needs to be ignored if the team wants to accomplish anything this season.
The Rumor, The Denial, and the “Easy Target”
This whole situation blew up during the Sixers’ preseason game against the New York Knicks. Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, doing the call for MSG Networks, dropped a bombshell, saying he heard a story about LeBron James “letting Embiid have it” for being a “couple of minutes late” for practice. Can you believe that? Of course, the internet went wild. But Embiid quickly squashed it, saying, “It sucks, but what can you do? It’s unfortunate. I don’t know where that came from. It never happened.” He doubled down on his feeling that because he’s “Joel Embiid” and has a history, he’s just an “easy target” for these kinds of made-up stories. His message to the team is loud and clear: “It’s important that we stay together and we keep our [head] down.”
LeBron and Nurse Speak Up, Breen Apologizes
It wasn’t just Embiid pushing back, either. LeBron James himself jumped on Instagram Story, writing “stop the lies” and confirming that Embiid hasn’t been late for any practice. Even Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was “surprised” when he heard Breen’s comments on Wednesday. Nurse told reporters Embiid is “in great shape; he’s been on the practice floor,” which totally backs up both stars. Amid all the pushback, Breen issued an apology, relayed by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, admitting he believes LeBron and was sorry for putting the story out there. He said he got it from “someone I trust” and thought it was just an “interesting anecdote” about James’ positive influence, not realizing the “fact that it was Joel is what made it a story.” He feels “awful” it focused on Embiid like that.
Getting Ready for the Real Deal
While all this drama was swirling, Embiid and James made their preseason debuts for the 76ers on Thursday night. Embiid played 24 minutes, finishing with six points and a rough eight turnovers. LeBron had a cleaner outing in 18 minutes, putting up 10 points and shooting 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Sixers have two more preseason games left to iron things out. You know they need to tighten up before the regular season tips off on October 20 against the defending NBA champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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