Was there a brawl between LeBron James and Joel Embiid?: "If he says it never happened, I believe him"

The story about an alleged reprimand from LeBron James to Joel Embiid during a practice for the Philadelphia 76ers has ended with a public apology from Mike Breen. The historic commentator acknowledged that he regrets the repercussions of his words after the Sixers star denied that the incident occurred.

Breen mentioned during the fourth quarter of the preseason game between Philadelphia and the New York Knicks that someone had told him before the game that Embiid arrived a couple of minutes late to the practice court and that LeBron had reacted to the situation.

The information quickly generated backlash, especially since it involved Embiid. However, LeBron took to social media on Tuesday to deny the account. "He didn't arrive late, so stop with the lies," wrote the Sixers player.

In light of James' reaction, Breen wanted to clarify what happened and take his share of the responsibility. "I am very disappointed with how the story was interpreted," the commentator told ESPN. His intention, as he acknowledged, was completely different: he wanted to highlight the leadership that LeBron would already be showing within the Philadelphia locker room.

"The whole purpose was to praise LeBron for already having an impact on the professionalism and accountability of the team, even in something as insignificant as a player arriving one or two minutes late to a practice," explained Breen.

The commentator stated that the information came from "someone I trust" and that he decided to share it because he thought it could be an interesting anecdote to show the positive dynamics beginning to develop in the new Sixers locker room.

However, he acknowledged that including Embiid's name completely changed the dimension of the story. "For me, the fact that the teammate was Joel didn't matter. Looking back now, I should have understood that the fact that it was Joel was precisely what turned this into a story," he noted.

Breen also wanted to make it clear that he has always been a big admirer of the Cameroonian center and regretted that the episode ended up focusing on him.

LeBron denies the story, and Breen believes him

The controversy also had a context that made any information related to Embiid's punctuality particularly sensitive. Two seasons ago, during Philadelphia's challenging start, with a record of 2-11, sources cited by ESPN claimed that several teammates had questioned the center for being late "to everything" while the team was trying to turn the situation around.

Therefore, Breen’s statement could be interpreted as a new episode of that type within the locker room. However, LeBron himself denied that it occurred.

"If LeBron says it never happened, I believe him and apologize for sharing it," Breen acknowledged.

The Sixers' head coach, Nick Nurse, was also asked about the situation after Wednesday's practice and made it clear that his current perception of Embiid is completely positive.

"I am just surprised by what I was told earlier and by what you are asking me because he has been excellent," Nurse stated. "He is in great physical shape, has been on the practice court, has worked very hard, and looks really good."

For Nurse, therefore, the situation is particularly surprising because it does not align with what he sees daily during Philadelphia's training camp.

The Sixers prepare for their next game

Neither LeBron, nor Embiid, nor Tyrese Maxey participated in Philadelphia's 120-97 victory over the Knicks. Nurse plans to use a rotation very similar to the one he intends to deploy during the regular season in two of the remaining three preseason games.

The first of those games will be this Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets, where the coach hopes to be able to count on most of his players.

The team's interior planning has also gained importance following the serious injury to Ariel Hukporti, who suffered a rupture of his right Achilles tendon and had to undergo surgery that ends his season.

Nurse explained that LeBron, Dean Wade, Jabari Walker, and Dominick Barlow are candidates to fill minutes as low post players. Philadelphia also has Adem Bona, who progressed this Wednesday in his on-court workouts after starting training camp sidelined due to a left foot sprain.

Despite Hukporti's absence, Nurse stated that the Sixers do not plan to add another center to the roster for now. "I think we will probably go with that group unless something else comes up," he concluded.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Hubo brocan de LeBron James a Joel Embiid?: "Si dice que nunca pasó, le creo"