As you probably know by now, TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley caused a stir when they served up a harsh critique of Joel Embiid after the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets 97-92 on Tuesday night.
Despite the solid win over a good Western Conference team that moved the Sixers to 18-7 on the season and a perfect 13-0 at home, the duo singled out Embiid’s performance, with Barkley going as far as saying the Sixers have “no chance” at making the finals. That prediction followed a critique of Embiid, where Barkley noted that “he’s (Embiid) the toughest player to match up with in the league” but we don’t talk about him the way we talk about other great players.
Embiid posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in the victory, but that didn’t stop Shaq from running with Barkley’s comments, saying “22 ain’t enough to get you to the next level. You wanna be great? Or you wanna be good? If you wanna be good, keep giving 22 points, You wanna be great? Give me 28. Give me 30.” Shaq also suggested that Embiid isn’t “playing hard enough.”
The comments sparked debate across the basketball world, with some agreeing with the sentiment while others noted that the pair seemed to ignore that the Sixers won the game and hold wins over the other Eastern Conference contenders that they have played so far (Boston, Toronto, Miami.)
On Thursday, we found out which camp Embiid sits in, and it’s the former. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey asked the big man about the criticism, and Embiid was blunt in his response.
“I do think they’re right. I think I need to, you know, be more aggressive, you know, just look to impose myself, just look to dominate. I think the whole season I haven’t done that. I guess I need to go back to having fun and just dominate, but I get what they’re saying and I think they’re right, and I gotta make a change.”
I asked #Sixers’ Joel Embiid about the criticism Charles Barkley and Shaq had about his performances. This is what he said: pic.twitter.com/aOk6q8X2ht
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) December 12, 2019
Interestingly, Shaq prefaced his comments by saying it’s not criticism but information to help Embiid get to where he can go. While the truth of that statement is up for debate, it certainly appears that Embiid took it as information rather than criticism.
Since his suspension from the scuffle with Karl-Anthony Towns, Embiid has talked a lot about maturity. He’s noted that he doesn’t want to do anything that could be a distraction for his team, but also that in trying to find that balance he hasn’t played with the same joy that is such a big part of his game.
Embiid’s response to the TNT crew’s comments indicates exactly the kind of maturity the Sixers want to see from the big man. Instead of taking it personally and lashing out or dismissing it as modern-day hot take sports talk, Embiid seems to have listened to and contemplated the comments. He then issued a mature, reasoned, and encouraging response.
Hopefully, Embiid is starting to realize what kind of maturity the team actually needs from him and is learning how to balance that with the joyful, fun-loving personality that has endeared him to Sixers fans and that helps him play his best basketball when it is allowed to show through.
Embiid is attempting a balancing act right now as he tries to find the line between being the trash-talking, dancing, animated dominant basketball player that we’ve seen him be and a mature leader that doesn’t go overboard and put his team in unnecessary difficult positions. Perhaps Thursday’s comments are an indication that he’s getting closer to finding that sweet spot. [lawrence-related id=21056,21042,21037]