They Hate The Process: Joel Embiid responds to fake news reports from Mike Breen

The Sixers haven’t played a single game that counts yet, and the media is already trying to tear Joel Embiid down. With Embiid, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey on the same roster, everyone knew the outside noise was coming.

Nobody expected it to show up this fast, or from someone like Mike Breen.

The Report That Wasn’t:

Breen said on air recently that Embiid has been showing up late to practice and that LeBron has been the one checking him on it.

That’s exactly the kind of story people have been waiting to run since LeBron signed here. The superstar newcomer straightening out the big man who supposedly can’t get his act together writes itself, and it spread like wildfire.

Fake News: LeBron James calls out Joel Embiid for being late to practice >>

There was one problem. It wasn’t true.

LeBron went on Instagram and shut it down himself, and Nick Nurse went to bat for Embiid publicly. Mike Breen eventually apologized and said he believes LeBron if LeBron says it didn’t happen. That’s bullshit too, by the way. How about an apology to Joel Embiid directly, Mike? He’s the one that was “hurt” by your fake bullshit, not LeBron James.

Mike Breen is lucky I don’t know his @ or else I’d tell him he’s a big dumb rage bait idiot and upset the king. pic.twitter.com/gZr1g1Dyb7

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) October 7, 2026

The damage was done, and Joel Embiid was the one left answering questions about it.

Joel Embiid’s Response:

After the Sixers lost to the Nets in Thursday’s preseason game, Embiid finally addressed it. He said the report sucked, that he has no idea where it came from and that it never happened.

Then he made the point that actually matters. There’s going to be plenty of outside noise trying to pull this team apart, and the only thing that matters is the group staying together and keeping their heads down.

He was also honest about how it felt. Embiid said his first thought was “Why me?” and then answered his own question. He’s Joel Embiid. He’s been in this spot before, he usually doesn’t respond to this kind of thing, and that makes him an easy target.

He’s right. He’s always been the easy target.

This Is Nothing New:

Embiid has been taking shots for his entire career. People have gone after his weight, his conditioning, his injuries, his personality and pretty much anything else they could find. He’s an MVP, one of the most dominant big men of his generation, and the guy who has carried this franchise on his back for a decade, and the national narrative around him has never once matched what he’s actually done on the floor.

Now there’s a new roster around him, and somehow the target got even bigger. Every story about this team is going to be framed around whether Embiid can coexist with LeBron and Brown, and every rumor is going to land on him first. A false report about him being late to practice got legs immediately because people wanted it to be true.

They Hate The Process:

Embiid knows the deal. They hate The Process. They always have, and they always will. A new-look roster isn’t going to change that, and the media isn’t going to stop looking for reasons to tear our guy down. The history speaks for itself.

The good news is that LeBron and Nurse had his back right away, and that says a lot about where this locker room is. The Sixers get back at it Saturday against the Celtics. Let the noise keep coming. This team is going to be too good to care.

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