The biggest story in the NBA all week has been reigning MVP Joel Embiid’s left knee injury and whether NBA load management rules created an environment where Embiid played hurt. And after sports media voices trashed Embiid for “ducking” a game in Denver against rival center Nikola Jokic on Saturday night despite Embiid reportedly playing hurt, the legendary LeBron James is calling for some apologies.
Embiid missed a few games with left knee “soreness” before suffering a tear in his left meniscus on Tuesday.
“Where are all the media outlets, tv media personalities, hot takes that talked so much [s***] about Joel Embiid about missing those games when he knew what he was dealing with?” James posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “Not 1 person has went back on tv or their dumba** podcast and apologized to that MAN!! No accountability.”
https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1753480951613849880
Embiid was out against the Nuggets and again on Monday in Portland before returning to the court Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors and re-injuring his left knee. The 76ers were fined for not putting Embiid on the injury report in the lead-up to the Denver game.
However, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said the tear was “kind of unrelated” to the soreness Embiid was nursing previously. Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga landed on Embiid’s knee late in Philadelphia’s loss to Golden State.
The Athletic later reported Embiid felt pressure to play as a result of new rules dictating players must be active for at least 65 games to qualify for awards like MVP or All-NBA teams. Embiid has not played in Denver since 2019.
As more information has come out, the conversation has turned. Many, including Michael Wilbon on Pardon the Interruption and Kenny Smith on Inside the NBA, have called for Embiid to rest for at least the next several weeks rather than fall victim to the NBA’s awards rules.
But if James wants mea culpas for all the takes that flew after that Denver game, he’s unlikely to get them. After all, Embiid’s head coach directly stated the meniscus injury was not the same injury he missed time for over the weekend.
The situation evolved, as did the media conversation.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.