Awkward: Tyrese Maxey challenged Joel Embiid during team meeting after 2-11 start

The Sixers continued their horrendous start to the season against the Heat on Monday night, falling to 2-11 to start the year. It’s been so bad, in fact, that the team held a lengthy meeting after the loss to hash things out.

Tyrese Maxey confronted Joel Embiid in the meeting for his tardiness:

ESPN reporting: Inside the Philadelphia 76ers' team meeting Monday night amid a 2-11 start – in which a star challenged All-NBA center Joel Embiid.https://t.co/pcO1ZssOFY

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 19, 2024

The full report is worth a read, but the following passage is worth noting:

“In the meeting, Maxey challenged Embiid to be on time to team activities, calling out the former league MVP about being late “for everything” and how it impacts the locker room, from other players to the coaching staff, sources briefed on the meeting told ESPN.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Embiid supporter, even to a fault. But a former MVP getting called out by a 24-year-old is about as bad as a look as you can get.

Unsurprisingly, Embiid was not the one to call the meeting. That burden fell on Kyle Lowry, and I applaud him for being the veteran leader this team needs in a crisis like this.

Joel Embiid accepted Tyrese Maxey’s call to action but admitted he’s still unsure about what the Sixers are trying to execute on the court. I can’t blame him there, because we fans are in the same boat trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

The players asked the coaches to coach them harder, while the coaching staff said the players need to practice with more purpose and detail. It’s a strange back-and-forth—both sides pushing for more intensity. We’ll see if either side delivers.

Also, it’s not great that Embiid took it upon himself to crack a joke in his postgame presser when asked about the meeting instead of taking it seriously. I don’t expect him to wax poetic about the state of the team, but it would have been nice if he could act like an actual leader instead of deferring to old-ass Kyle Lowry and young Maxey.

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