Just to go back to the Olympics: Do you have any doubt about who’s going to win the gold medal? You look at the talent that the U.S. has, but there’s equal talent on other teams. And the talent that’s on the U.S. team, you also got to understand most of those guys are older. The LeBron now is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago. So it’s a big difference. Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now. I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be.
Before we go, I just wanted to say: You know the sports-media hot-take machine is going to go into overdrive because you said that if it hadn’t been for injuries you’d be in the greatest-of-all-time conversation. That’s OK because that’s the truth. I mean, you think about what I’ve been able to accomplish and what has been taken away because of injuries. There’s a lot of what-ifs, but if you combine collectively and individually, you can make the case of being up there.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/20/magazine/joel-embiid-interview.html
by bambam-in-vietnam
44 Comments
is this one of those lines that sounds better when you watch the interview vs read it in a headline? because lmao wait til he sees PG if not
Embiid after USA wins by 25 in the finals: “luckily Lebron and Steph had me here to carry them”
this guy has no filter lol
Kick this loser off the team! Why is he talking about the LeBron being washed, when he has been the worst on the team?
Someone needs to hire Embiid a PR person, he just digs himself in a bigger hole every time he speaks.
I don’t think he wants to be there
Nicely said Joel.
Now make sure to drop one of your signature playoff performances in the knockouts.
The hardest Olympic road!
Like this loser is actively on the team saying this lol?
Doesn’t matter though. Curry and LeBron on the strong side of the floor looks like cancer for any opposing defense to deal with.
LeBron in the short-roll in a 3-v-2 situation? It’s a shame Team USA likely won’t need to run that action between Steph and LeBron that often.
I don’t care about this quote at all, who cares. I love me some Embiid hate train but this is just a fat nothing burger
Embiid and Ant talking: ” look at em ol’ A** ni***s *
Old man lebron is in better shape than embiid could ever dream of being.
The hate in this comment section is weird
Embiid can’t help but throw his teammates under the bus. I’d still take 39 year old LeBron over Embiid for a playoff run
hes literally just saying the usa lineup looks slightly better on paper because of name recognition and we shouldn’t write off other countries from having a chance. jesus christ u guys are babies
What is going on with this dude?
Yeah, some guys are older, but you Embiid literally won the MVP last season. He should be the best player in this team, yet he still hasn’t caught a pass without fumbling it
“Unlike me who’s been overrated my whole career”
Slandering Lebron is insane. No one said lebron is 2018 lebron, but he’s a damn good player and has far outplayed embiid at this stage. I’m still taking an old 40 yr old lebron over “Joel” for a playoff run
Embiid followed up that answer by saying that winning gold is the goal, but that a lot of the team has never played with each other, and they need to find the best way to play together.
But apparently people in this thread are either too stupid to seek out the context, or they irrationally hate him so much that they refuse to believe that he can give a well reasoned answer to a question about the USA kicking ass on their way to gold. If he said that a win is guaranteed people would find some way to clown him for that, too.
I remember when this sub actually had thoughtful content that taught something, now it’s just a bunch of bitter kids projecting their misery onto professional basketball players who have actually done something productive with their lives.
bro said the same thing about when harden went to philly
Lebron still putting in work last i saw him on a court. It’s like when Eminem said if I’m half as good as I was I’m still twice as good as you’ll ever be. (Not really but you get the sentiment, even if Lebron lost a step he’s still a force)
EmBum “players have aged”
r/nba “REEEEEEEEE FOUL BAITING INSUFFERABLE BITCH EVERYONE HATES YOU GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY”
Bench players talkin like starters, I hate it.
Imagine if a 28-30 year old Lebron(or Kobe for example)who was always in the MVP conversation was carried by someone 10+ years older than him and not be the star of the team.
That is what is happening on Embiid this Olympics.
Embiid analyses everything like he works for ESPN and is not an actual basketball player. He’s always done this
Then be the fucking man, Joel.
First subway has the best cheese steak and now this? What a heel turn.
I see some Glenn work here lol
And he’s never been what he should be.
When’s the ring going on the finger? Is he gonna blame everyone besides himself until his knees finally quit?
Taken out of context as per usual when it comes to this subreddit and Embiid
The Embiid hate boner on this sub is insane lol. He’s not wrong at all. Steph and LeBron aren’t even close to the level they were at their peak. They are still great players, but that’s just a testament to how great they were in their primes. I mean none of the big 3 of KD, Curry, and LBJ are even top 5 players right now
While this may be true to an extent, the older stars are still Olympic team worthy and everybody acknowledges that they aren’t quite the same players they were at their very best. This feels more like Embiid making excuses already.
“If we lose it’s because my teammates are old and not what they used to be.”
I would take 50 year old Lebron over a lot of other scrubs.
Embiid’s mouth is bigger than his brain.
He talks alot. Now win something.
Good looking out on leadership, wow.
Put your teammates down, terrific.
Jerk.
Embiid bad. Gimme upvote
I’m sure this will generate healthy, thoughtful discussion.
I think Lebron at 50 could play more nba games in a season than Embiid now
so many people triggered holy shit
did he flop during the interview? classic joel
I finished listening to this interview this morning and this quote is definitely better in audio form and with more context. It’s worth a listen.
Embiid just setting the table to throw somebody under the bus.
Ironic because 40 year old Lebron is still a better player 30 year old Embiid