The Philadelphia 76ers’ best player has gotten into some off-court hot water already this year, despite not yet being able to suit up for a game.
2023 league MVP center Joel Embiid, who has been sidelined all year, got into a postgame altercation Saturday night. But the fight wasn’t with a fellow elite athlete.
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After Philadelphia got walloped by the Memphis Grizzlies 124-107 Saturday in their home arena, the Wells Fargo Center, Embiid reportedly attacked a reporter in his team’s locker room, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Oh, boy, people will remember the Sixers season for all the wrong reasons. The team just dropped to 1-4 and Joel Embiid assaulted a reporter in the locker room.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) November 3, 2024
Shams Charania of ESPN clarified the context and extent of the contentious moment with a follow-up tweet. Charania noted that Embiid was apparently frustrated with the way a writer’s recent article addressed his four-year-old son and his late younger brother Arthur, who died 10 years ago in a Cameroon car crash.
76ers’ Joel Embiid got in an altercation with a columnist following tonight’s game in Philadelphia. Embiid took issue with a recent column that referenced his late brother and son, and Embiid shoved the columnist. No punch.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 3, 2024
Embiid could face serious ramifications for getting into a fight, especially with a non-player. The context could play an important role for the NBA’s legal team, which will no doubt investigate this alleged assault and determine next steps from there.
The 30-year-old superstar has had an unfortunate start to his 2024-25 NBA season. Embiid is dealing with a left knee injury. He sat out the entire preseason and has missed all five of Philadelphia’s regular season games to date, after a disappointing performance with the U.S. men’s Olympic team this summer en route to his first gold medal. The 7-foot-1 big man recently called out fans for saying he was willfully resting, and might have been available to play were he not load managing with an eye towards the postseason.
Read more: 76ers’ Joel Embiid Slams Fans For Health Issue Mistreatment
Embiid is not the only All-Star 76ers frontcourt player to miss the entire regular season so far. Nine-time All-Star Paul George, who inked a four-year, $211.6 million maximum deal, incurred a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise in his second preseason game. He hasn’t been available since.
For the year, that’s a combined $100.6 million in player salaries sitting on the bench. So perhaps it’s not entirely surprising that their squad is struggling so much in the early offing.
This story will be updated…
