Sixers Hold Team Meeting After Another Loss, Tyrese Maxey Challenges Joel Embiid’s Leadership

November 19, 2024

The Sixers hit rock bottom Monday night, falling 106-89 to the Heat, their fourth straight loss. Sitting at 2-11 and dead last in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia held a team meeting following the game, hoping to spark some urgency amid a disastrous start, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

Kyle Lowry, the team’s elder statesman, called for the meeting, and it didn’t shy away from tough truths. Sources told Charania that Tyrese Maxey, out since Nov. 7 with a hamstring strain, spoke up directly to Joel Embiid, calling out the reigning MVP for being late to team activities and how it’s impacting everyone in the locker room.

“Tyrese loves Big Fella, but this is the elephant in the room,” one person familiar with the meeting told ESPN.

To Embiid’s credit, he reportedly accepted the feedback, acknowledging confusion about the Sixers’ on-court execution. Players also asked head coach Nick Nurse to push them harder, while the coaching staff challenged the team to approach practices with purpose and discipline.

The Sixers were supposed to be a contender. Adding Paul George on a four-year, $212 million deal and extending Maxey for five years and $204 million seemed like the perfect formula to support Embiid. But injuries, suspensions, and poor chemistry have left the team in shambles.

George has played in just six games while nursing a bone bruise. Embiid missed the start of the season with “knee injury management” and served a three-game suspension for shoving a reporter. The trio of Embiid, George, and Maxey hasn’t played a single minute together.

Now, the Sixers are searching for answers. Maxey, seen as the heart of this group, is expected back later this week, giving them a much-needed boost. But if this team doesn’t turn things around soon, the offseason dreams of a championship run could quickly become a distant memory.

For now, it’s all talk. Whether this team meeting lights a fire or becomes another footnote in a season gone sideways will depend on what the Sixers do next.