Tuesday’s matchup between the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers marked the 2024-25 season debut of former MVP winner Joel Embiid. And early on, Embiid certainly showed signs of some rust from his time away from the court. But TNT Sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal was in no mood to give Embiid any kind of leeway for his uncharacteristically quiet first half.
Embiid has, of course, been the subject of several different controversies since the start of the NBA season. His absence from the court has been marred with questions as to when he would return, with very few straight answers coming from the 76ers’ organization.
Then, Embiid got into an altercation with Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes after Hayes wrote a column in October that insinuated that Embiid wasn’t representing his family, involving his late brother and young son, like he should due to his lack of on-court production.
Following this incident, Embiid received a three-game suspension, further delaying his season debut to Monday’s matchup against the Knicks.
When it came time to take the floor on Monday, Embiid got off to a slow start, going 0-3 from the field in the first half. He did, however, make eight free throws in the first half.
During halftime, the Inside the NBA crew discussed Embiid’s quiet first half. And O’Neal used that to further critique Embiid’s time away from the court and his plan not to play in back-to-backs.
“In New York, it’s a tough team to play,” said O’Neal. “But this was the fear I had for Joel Embiid. You announce arrogantly, I’m not playing back-to-backs, Ernie. I’m not injured but I’m sore. I’ll come back when I want to come back.
“Now, when you say things like that, you’re supposed to come back with extra energy. 0-3, I would have been 0-15. But you know what y’all would have said. ‘Hey, Shaq’s not playing well, but he’s playing aggressive.’ The plan that they are having, it’s not working. And not only that, I say this respectfully. Joel Embiid will never win a championship until he gets his mind and his attitude right.”
“Joel Embiid will never win a championship until he gets his mind and his attitude right” đź‘€
Shaq gives his take on Embiid’s first half performance and his future 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/GQJHHVPrfK
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 13, 2024
It may be a bit of an overreaction to say after one half of his season debut that Embiid will “never win a championship” in his current mindset. But then again, O’Neal is certainly no stranger to an overreaction…
Ultimately, 76ers’ fans will get a better sense of where Embiid is really at after he gets a few games under his belt. But O’Neal did interestingly have one prominent local figure, Howard Eskin of Sports Radio 94 WIP in Philadelphia, who agreed with his assessment of Embiid’s championship chances.
“Shaq you can stop at NEVER,” wrote Eskin on X referring to Embiid’s chances of winning a championship.
Shaq you can stop at NEVER
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) November 13, 2024
