Sources: Tyrese Maxey challenged Joel Embiid at 76ers meeting

The loss was the team’s fourth in a row, prompting veteran guard Kyle Lowry to call the meeting, a much-needed conversation and a call to action and urgency, sources told ESPN. Players and coaches held each other accountable and took the blame at the beginning of the season.

Maxey challenged Embiid to be on time for team activities, criticizing the 2022-23 league MVP for being late “for everything” and how it affects the locker room, from other players to the coaching staff, informed sources told ESPN. the meeting.

Maxey and Embiid have a close friendship and a history of holding each other accountable, according to those around the team.

“Tyrese loves Big Fella, but this is the elephant in the room,” a person involved in the meeting told ESPN.

The players told 76ers coach Nick Nurse that they want to be coached harder, and the coaches, in turn, said they want the players to practice with purpose and attention to detail.

Embiid accepted the messages sent in the meeting, sources said, but said he sometimes feels confused about what the 76ers are trying to execute on the court.

Embiid, who was questionable for most of Monday due to illness, was not seen by most of his teammates and coaches all day before reporting for warmups and playing in the game.

Maxey is highly regarded as a young leader by many in the organization and those around the team were not surprised when he spoke Monday. He has been out since Nov. 7 with a right hamstring strain, but sources said he is expected to return this week, either Wednesday at Memphis or Friday at home against the Brooklyn Nets.

Philadelphia transformed its roster in the offseason after losing in six games to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. The Sixers added George, a nine-time All-Star, to a four-year, $212 million deal to join Embiid and Maxey, who hours later signed his own five-year, $204 million deal.

After years of trying and ultimately failing to find the right players to surround Embiid, from Jimmy Butler to Ben Simmons to James Harden, the Sixers believed they had found the ideal pairing in George and Maxey.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index ranked the Sixers third in its preseason rankings. His preseason over/under win total was 51.5.

George, recovering from a bone bruise in his left knee, has played in six of the team’s first 13 games. Embiid also missed the start of the season, dealing with what the team called “knee injury management,” and was later suspended for three games for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Marcus Hayes. The team is 0-3 since his return.