After getting hurt, LeBron James of the Lakers slams Joel Embiid’s critics, saying, “No Accountability.”
Leading scorer for the Lakers, LeBron James, took to social media on Thursday to criticize the media and certain people for their coverage of Joel Embiid’s injury.
The news came out Thursday night that Embiid had hurt his lateral meniscus within his left knee or would be out for the rest of the weekend.
During Tuesday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, Embiid hurt his left knee. He got an MRI, which showed the injury. A treatment plan is still being worked out by the 76ers.
Embiid hurt his left leg when Jonathan Kuminga of Golden State fell on it. James replied to the anger and rumors about Embiid missing games within a Friday series of posts on X.
Embiid’s return to action came after an issue alongside his left knee kept him out of games on Saturday at Denver (which meant he couldn’t play against two-time MVP Nikola Jokic) and Monday at Portland.
People in the media and on social media who were looking toward the MVP matchup were angry and speculating about why he wasn’t in the Denver game.
“Where all of the media outlets, TV media personalities, strong take that talked so much (emoji) about Embiid and about missing the games when he knew what he was dealing with,” James wrote.
“He’s out now because he hurt himself.” No one has gone back on TV or their stupid podcast and said sorry to that MAN!! He also added some trashcan emojis and said, “No accountability.”
Because Embiid wasn’t playing, the NBA looked into how the team reported injuries. Thursday, the NBA said the Sixers would be fined $75,000 because they did not include Embiid in their injury report “accurately and on time” before Saturday’s game.
Because Embiid has already missed 12 games this season, he may not be able to win his second straight MVP award.
Most of the time, the new labor contract says that players have to play within 65 regular-season games before they can be considered for awards like MVP or the All-NBA teams.
Embiid has continued to play at an MVP level when he is healthy. With 35.3 points per game, he is the NBA’s top scorer.
He also averages 11.3 rebounds as well as 5.7 assists per game. His 70 points and 18 rebounds helped the team beat San Antonio 133–124 on January 22. It was the highest score in the team’s history.
After a rumor spread that James would be traded before Thursday’s deadline, James’ agent, Rich Paul, said that James hasn’t asked for a trade and won’t be traded.
Paul told ESPN, “We don’t want to trade LeBron, and he won’t be traded.” James may have made things worse when he tweeted an hourglass shortly after the Lakers lost to the Hawks on Tuesday and fell below 500.
Since the Lakers are only 25–25 and don’t look like they’ll be in the running for a title this season, rumors have grown about James’ immediate future with the team.
James being traded became an even bigger idea when KTLA report David Pingalore tweeted that the Lakers are thinking about moving James. Pingalore has a history of reporting on James’ news.
It’s not well known that Pingalore was right when he said that James was thinking about going back to the Cavaliers shortly after his time in Miami, that James was going to sign with the Lakers, and additionally that Kawhi Leonard would join the Clippers, as Awful Announcing reported.
The only catch is that Pingalore didn’t say for sure that a trade would happen, but the phrase “close to a suitor” makes it sound like James might be moving soon.
But since Paul, a well-known and respected NBA agent, shot down the rumor in public, it looks like the Lakers are going to attempt to save the season instead of starting over.
The Lakers beat the Celtics in Boston on Thursday, shocking everyone. They are now in ninth spot in the Western Conference, and if everything works out, they could be a scary team.