Professional basketball analyst Charles Barkley has criticized 76ers center Joel Embiid for the ongoing investigation into his load management practices.
NBA insider Shams Charania reported this week that the NBA will be conducting an investigation into Embiid’s absence from the entire opening week and lack of participation in preseason games due to a left knee injury.
“It’s customary for the NBA to look into a team whenever a star player misses a nationally televised game, in accordance with the player participation policy,” Charania explained.
In addition, Embiid recently stated that he may never play in back-to-back games for the remainder of his career, further raising concerns about his availability.
Despite playing in only 39 games last season due to various injuries, Embiid still represented Team USA in Paris.
Barkley, speaking on TNT, expressed his frustration with the situation and urged Embiid to be more resilient.
“I don’t understand what the Sixers are doing. It’s not fair,” Barkley remarked. “He just signed a $193 million deal to play basketball. We’re not like steelworkers or nurses with real jobs that require 40-50 hours a week. We play basketball, mostly three to four days a week. He has a top-tier backup in Andre Drummond.
“If they needed to manage his minutes, just say so. But the Sixers publicly announcing it was a mistake. Period,” Barkley concluded.
The 76ers organization claims that Embiid is progressing well with his individualized plan and will increase his on-court activities this week, including scrimmages.
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