In the spirit of epic returns, Joel Embiid will make sure to remind everyone just how lethal he can be for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Just not during his first game.
After a very long layoff, one that traces back to the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 76ers superstar failed to gain much traction on the court, struggling immensely as the team dropped its first Emirate NBA Cup game at home against the Knicks.
In 26 minutes of playing time, Embiid mustered a mere 13 points, two rebounds, and five assists while only converting on two of his 11 field goal attempts. He clearly looked rusty out there, and even standout performances from Paul George and Jared McCain were not nearly enough to upend a loaded New York team.
However, it took Embiid only one half to the tune of 13 minutes, not the entire game, to irk his biggest hater on national television.
Shaq goes full-on hater mode in ballistic overreaction to 76ers star Joel Embiid
Following the team’s first-half performance where they then only trailed by four with Embiid scoring eight points, all from the charity stripe, Shaquille O’Neal zeroed in on the 2023 Most Valuable Player and dished out a not-so-warm reception for him in his first game back and 2024-25 season debut.
"Joel Embiid will never win a championship until he gets his mind and his attitude right" 👀
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 13, 2024
Shaq gives his take on Embiid's first half performance and his future 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/GQJHHVPrfK
New York is a tough team to play against, but this is the fear I had for Joel Embiid. You announce arrogantly, “I’m not playing back-to-backs. I’m not injured but I’m sore and I’ll come in when I wanna come back”. Now when you say things like that, you’re supposed to come back with extra energy.
Joel Embiid will never wi a championship until he gets his mind and his energy right.
Talk about a gross overreaction to one half of bad basketball, which is completely understandable in light of the fact that this is Embiid’s first game in months.
The 76ers know what Embiid perfectly capable of doing, but everyone expecting him to suddenly explode in his first game back with a new cast around him are blinded by narratives and a sore lack of realism.
Shaq, at this point, is just a big hater who actively seeks the spotlight by taking it away from his modern contemporaries. He’s done it to others, and he will most definitely continue doing it to Embiid.
Still, the Philadelphia 76ers have some catching up to do in the standings, and Joel Embiid has no time to really pay attention to all these, especially given the drama he’s already endured this season.