Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has yet to play in this NBA season, his first after signing a three-year, $193 million contract extension, and there has been controversy surrounding his health and availability.
This has led to a Philadelphia Inquirer column this week about the controversy, with the writer, Marcus Hayes, calling Embiid “Mr. 46 Percent” in it – Embiid has played in 46% of regular season games since being drafted in 2014.
Embiid was asked on Friday about how he felt about his load management, which he took as a chance to slam Hayes and those criticising his intermittent absence from the team.
“It was never decided. Like I said, everybody has been on the same page. If your body doesn’t react well and your body tells you one thing, I’ve done it,” Embiid said.
“From what I can tell you, I’ve broken my face twice. I came back early with the risk of losing my vision. I had broken fingers. I still came back. So, I’m not gonna sit here and be like, when I see people saying ‘he doesn’t want to play.’ I’ve been through way too much. I’ve done way too much for this city and putting myself at risk for people to be saying that. So, I do think it’s bulls—.
“Like, that dude, he’s not here. Marcus whatever his name is. I’ve done way too much for this f—ing city to be treated like this. So, I’ve done way too f—ing much. But, like I said, I wish I was as lucky as other ones, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not trying and I’m not doing whatever it takes to be out there, which I’m gonna be here pretty soon.”
The NBA recently fined the Sixers $100,000 due to public statements made about Embiid’s health at the start of the season. The league conducted an investigation into the 76ers after Embiid missed the team’s opening game against the Milwaukee Bucks, which was reportedly a formality due to its player participation policy for nationally televised games.