NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley didn’t mince words when talking about Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid missing the first week of the regular season due to left knee injury management.
Embiid is sitting out Wednesday night’s opener against the Milwaukee Bucks and also won’t face the Toronto Raptors on Friday or the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The former MVP didn’t play in any preseason games, despite participating in the Paris Olympics for Team USA.
The team said Embiid is “responding well to his individualized plan,” and ramping up “play activities this week, including scrimmaging.” He will be re-evaluated this weekend.
Embiid underwent torn meniscus surgery on his left knee last season and was limited to just 39 regular season games, before returning for the Sixers’ first-round loss to the New York Knicks.
The Sixers have said that Embiid is unlikely to play in back-to-back games this season. The team’s load management plan irked Barkley, an NBA analyst for TNT, and he didn’t hold back when talking about the issue with SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio.
“I’m not happy with that. I’m not happy with that at all,” Barkley said Tuesday, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It bothers me a lot. I mean, the guy is making close to $70 million. He just signed an extension. And No. 1, it’s kind of crapping on the fans. I mean, I’m pretty sure steel workers and people like that don’t want to go to work. Guys who work in construction, guys who work paving our streets and things like that, I’m pretty sure they don’t want to go to work sometimes, but they go to work every day for chump change. Not being disrespectful, not a lot of money. I don’t think a guy making $65-$70 million a year, can’t play basketball three, maybe four days a week. I don’t like it at all.”
Barkley continued, “I mean, man, these people pay all this money. Regular people pay all this money to see guys play stupid basketball. And if you can’t play, you’re never gonna play more than four days a week. Most of the time we play three games a week, but sometimes you play four. But to announce you’re not gonna play basketball back-to-back, I mean, I just think that it sets a bad leadership role on the team. I really do. I couldn’t believe that when I heard it, to be honest with you.”
Charles Barkley says he’s ‘disappointed’ in Joel Embiid
It wasn’t the only time Barkley ripped Embiid that day. During the NBA on TNT Tip-off Show on Tuesday, the NBA legend said he was “disappointed” in the multiple-time All-Star for saying he will not play in back-to-back games.
“I was so disappointed in Joel Embiid saying he wasn’t going to play in back-to-back games. You’re one of the three, or four, or five best players in the world. You cannot say, as a leader of that team, I’m not going to play certain games. That’s not the way to start the season,” Barkley explained. “Now, if you start the season, you get some bumps and bruises. But, as the best player on that team and the leader, I would never go into a season saying, ‘I’m not going to play back-to-back games.’ I thought that was a bad message and I was very disappointed in Joel Embiid.”
"It doesn't make sense, the league isn't that physical for him to say that" 👀
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 22, 2024
Shaq & Chuck sound off on Embiid's comments that he may not play in back-to-backs pic.twitter.com/IVcAH9lJxi
Barkley added that Embiid doesn’t have to play many minutes in consecutive games because of new Sixers backup center Andre Drummond.
“If you’re playing back-to-back, say, ‘Hey guys, I’m only going to play 25 minutes this night, because Drummond, to me, is an underrated pickup by the Sixers,” noted Barkley.
The Sixers will be monitoring Embiid’s workload as he’s missed 329 games during his career, including his first two seasons in the NBA. He’s never been healthy heading into the playoffs.
The Sixers are hoping that will change this year with their load management program.
Related: Philadelphia 76ers’ injury-prone All-Stars to miss season opener against Milwaukee Bucks