"Why're you so tired?" - Shaquille O'Neal calls out Joel Embiid for skipping back-to-back games
Joel Embiid has faced his share of criticism since announcing he is unlikely to play back-to-back games for the remainder of his career. This time, it's coming from Shaquille O'Neal, who has been critical of Embiid in the past.
On Friday's episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," the Hall of Fame big man threw shade at Embiid for his comments regarding his status in back-to-backs.
"You have to want to be that guy, and with his statements the other day I don't think Joel Embiid wants to be that guy," Shaq said. "I actually want him to take it personal. You can't come out before the season and say, 'I'm not playing back-to-backs.' So when he came out saying (that), I thought about it at first. I'm like, 'You don't get double-teamed, you don't get triple-teamed,' all he's going is pick and pop. Why are you tired?"
Shaquille O'Neal also questioned Embiid's ability to lead the 76ers, commenting on his lack of ability to put the team on his back.
"Until he steps up and takes that responsibility and puts the city and the team on his back, because he can do it."
Charles Barkley comments on Joel Embiid sitting out of back-to-backs
Joel Embiid's comments regarding his status for back-to-backs came in an interview with ESPN on October 14. In the interview, Embiid revealed that he may never appear in the second game of a back-to-back for the remainder of his career.
"If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs for the rest of my career," Embiid said.
On the Opening Night of the 2024-25 NBA season, Charles Barkley discussed his disappointment with Embiid for his comments on "NBA on TNT."
"I was so disappointed in Joel Embiid saying he wasn't going to play back-to-back games. You're one of the three, or four, or five best players in the world. You cannot say as the leader of that team, 'I'm not going to play certain games.' That's not the way to start the season."
Shaquille O'Neal agreed with Barkley, sharing his own questioning of Embiid's comments.
"Not only that, it doesn't make sense. The league isn't that physical for him to say that. He's a pick-and-popper, he's not a big guy... There's no reason to say, 'I'm not playing back-to-backs.'"
The 76ers announced Embiid will miss the first week of the season due to injury management. After missing the 76ers' season debut, the NBA opened an investigation to explore a potential violation of league participation rules.
The 76ers suffered a 124-109 loss in their first game of the season with Joel Embiid and Paul George sidelined.