Sports

76ers' Nick Nurse sounds off on report that LeBron James has gotten on Joel Embiid for being late

Nairavoice · Oct 8, 2026 · 2 min read

76ers’ Nick Nurse sounds off on report that LeBron James has gotten on Joel Embiid for being late originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Philadelphia 76ers have found themselves in quite the mess as of late, with a misinterpreted report coming out about Joel Embiid and LeBron James. During the first preseason game of the year, the duo found themselves in a headline they didn’t want to be in.

New York Knicks announcer Mike Breen reported that James had gotten onto Embiid for being late.

“They are, they’re raving about how he’s been so far. Obviously, it’s only a week of camp. But I had somebody tell me before the game that they were out ready to practice and Joel Embiid walked out on the court a couple minutes late,” Breen said on the air.

This story was picked up by the entire NBA world and viewed as the team already having some problems. However, James denied anything like it ever happened. After James denied it, Breen issued a statement apologizing and saying that he believes the four-time NBA champion.

“I don’t know why the person who told me the story would make it up, but if LeBron says it never happened then I believe him and apologize for putting it out there,” Breen said.

On Wednesday, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse was asked about the entire situation. He responded by sticking up for Embiid and admitting he was shocked something like that got out.

“I’m just surprised by [the report]. He’s been excellent. He’s in great shape. He’s been on the practice floor. He’s worked very hard and he looks really great. It just surprises me that something like that came out,” Nurse said.

Philadelphia has silenced this one quickly and got Breen to go back on what he said. Nurse isn’t going to stand for any of his players to be viewed in a negative light by the NBA world.

The 76ers are going to be a special team, and this is already trying to get blown up before the season even starts. One thing is for certain: Nurse has his players’ backs, and all of the players have each other as well. This is a great building moment for the entire team.