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At 2-11, the Philadelphia 76ers officially have the worst record in the NBA, and a reckoning may be on the horizon.
The team’s terrible record was exacerbated Monday evening when it fell 106-89 to the Miami Heat, despite Paul George and Joel Embiid both taking the floor and scoring 18 and 11, respectively.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Philly squad’s disjointed play has disgruntled them so much that Tyrese Maxey called a team meeting after the Miami game, notably to call out Joel Embiid. It didn’t have anything to do with his leadership skills or on-court play but rather something fundamental for anyone with a job or even attending school: his punctuality.
“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,” wrote Charania. “Maxey and Embiid have a close friendship and a history of holding each other accountable, according to those around the team.”
Embiid reportedly took Maxey’s criticism well but also had his own issues regarding what the team is trying to accomplish on the court. That part holds true but is partially his fault because the disjointed play can be blamed on Philly’s Big Three still not playing one game together.
Embiid has a lingering knee injury that the team’s trying to ease through load management, plus another three-game suspension and the newest addition, Paul George’s hyper-extended knee. Maxey, 24, has been sidelined since Nov. 7, so the team still doesn’t know what a healthy core looks like, making the losses even more frustrating.
Nick Nurse reportedly took more than an hour to get to the podium after the loss, so there was an inkling that something was wrong. In talking to The Athletic, Maxey admitted calling out the team’s big man.
“I wanted to speak up. I felt the need to do that because I wanted to share that we are better than what we have shown on the floor. There was a lot said, but it is what it is,” he told Tony Jones. “We said what we had to say, and we have to figure out a way to move on to the rest of the season. Everyone understands what’s at stake. Everyone is feeling the hurt.”
Maxey added that the team needs to have more fights, and hopefully, the meeting to air out their grievances—and everyone getting healthy—will give them the boost they need to unite and make a deep run into June, as the roster was designed to.
See how social media is reacting to the 76ers minor locker room rift below.