NBA fans fume over Joel Embiid's 'pathetic' behavior in season debut
The wait for Joel Embiid's 2024-25 NBA season is finally over as the Philadelphia 76ers big man played his first game against the New York Knicks during the NBA Cup.
However, Embiid's debut was far from ideal as he struggled to shoot throughout the game. The 7x NBA All-Star finished the night with just 13 points on a 2-13 shooting display.
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Moreover, Embiid fell back into his previous habits as fans noticed multiple instances where he tried to get a foul after flopping. One particular play during the third quarter went viral on X (formerly known as Twitter) and fans ripped apart the 30-year-old.
This guy isn’t real
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) November 13, 2024
pic.twitter.com/J3C0Zt7Izl
One fan said: "It’s pathetic. Wish players would call him out and call him what he is a sorry a** b***h."
Another added: "I’ve never disliked a player more. For him to be the bigger player on the floor, he doesn’t play like it enough for me."
A tweet with over 30K views proposed: "Maybe the reason why he is always injured is bc he throws his 300 lb body around for 35 minutes trying to get calls."
Another chimed in: "It’s getting sad at this point..."
All things considered, the reactions were a mix of disappointment and anger from the NBA community.
To be honest, every player in the NBA has a distinctive playing style, but Embiid's adamancy to score the majority of his points from the free-throw line makes him one of the most disliked players in the league.
Even in his season debut, he scored eight out of his 13 points from the charity stripe.
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