LeBron James got his first taste of sharing a 76ers floor with Joel Embiid on Tuesday night, and he didn’t waste time making clear what he thinks of the big man’s game.
Philadelphia fell 125-120 to Boston in a preseason matchup, but the result did little to soften James’ tone afterward. In the locker room, he spoke about what stood out most from seeing Embiid in a 76ers jersey after the two previously teamed up only at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I get excited when all my teammates play like that. We get excited for one another.
I know what Joe’s capable of. He’s one of the best players in the world.
The sky’s the limit for him,” James said.
He also pointed to Embiid’s health and how that has helped the two-time MVP settle in as the preseason rolls on.
“I think, obviously, he’s been in all the practices and been involved in everything. So, I think his health is showing, and he’s just starting to get his rhythm more and more, just like the rest of us,” he added.
Embiid was the scoring leader for Philadelphia, finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. He shot 7-for-13 from the field and hit 2 of 7 from deep. James, meanwhile, put up eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal while going 4-for-9 from the floor.
The conversation eventually circled back to the summer of 2024, when James and Embiid were teammates on Team USA. James made it clear he thought Embiid gave everything he had, but also that health limited what could be taken from that experience.
“Well, it’s kind of hard because he wasn’t healthy,” James added, speaking about what he took from playing with Joel Embiid during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I think we all knew that. He talked about it, and he wanted to be a part of that team.
He was a part of that team, and he gave us everything he had physically. He was one of the 12 guys that we all enjoyed being around throughout that whole summer.”
“there were times he felt great, and there were times he didn’t feel great. That was just about him being healthy. But this summer, he’s been the healthiest he’s been in a long time.”
“As I said, he’s been at all the practices and been through everything. I think he knows my demeanor, and I know his demeanor from spending that time together in the summer of 2024. So, it’s not foreign to us,” James concluded.
James also fielded one last question about something far away from basketball: the helicopter he uses to get to work and head back to New York after games and practices.
“Yeah, I’ve done it before. Just another way of transportation. Yeah, that’s all,” he said.
For now, James’ remarks left the travel topic sounding like exactly that - just transportation - while his basketball comments centered on Embiid’s health, rhythm and what he expects from him going forward.
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