The Joel Embiid-LeBron James rumor that started circling during the Philadelphia 76ers’ preseason opener didn’t last long.
On Monday night, while the Sixers were hosting the New York Knicks, Mike Breen said on the broadcast that he’d been told Embiid had shown up “a few minutes late” to a recent on-court practice and that LeBron James had spoken to him about it when he arrived.
“I had somebody tell me before the game that they were out and ready to practice,” Breen said on the broadcast. “And Joel Embiid walked out on the court a couple of minutes late and LeBron let him hear it.”
By the next day, James had already stepped in to knock the story down.
“He ain't been late so stop the lies,” James said with a blue cap emoji, highlighting the original report in his Instagram story with the comment.
Mike Breen says he was told Joel Embiid showed up a couple minutes late to Sixers practice and LeBron "let him hear it." pic.twitter.com/zLx3ElnCdp
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 6, 2026
The 76ers, who haven’t even opened their 2026-27 regular season yet, are still working through the preseason schedule. They’ll face the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics in their next two exhibition games before heading back home for another matchup with Boston in Philadelphia.
It’s still unclear whether James will be on the floor for any of those games as the Sixers continue building toward a season that opens Tuesday, October 20th against Jalen Brunson and the 2026 NBA Champion New York Knicks.
James, coming off his 23rd NBA season, averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Los Angeles Lakers last year while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.
LeBron came out and refuted this story tonight on Instagram: https://t.co/cNx5QZRqKF pic.twitter.com/djV7zfAURx
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 7, 2026
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