Rasheed Wallace believes 76ers shouldn’t have allowed Joel Embiid to play in 2024 Olympics

Joel Embiid is among the best basketball players in the world, when healthy. The Philadelphia 76ers center has struggled to stay on the court throughout his ten-year NBA career. After winning the 2022-23 NBA MVP award, he appeared in just 39 games last season. His injury issues have often extended into the postseason, with the seven-time All-Star seemingly either missing time or playing banged up annually.

Rasheed Wallace, who played 16 seasons in the NBA, suggested the 76ers should have prevented him from playing in the 2024 Olympics. Speaking on the Sheed & Tyler Show, the four-time All-Star stated:

What the Sixers should have done is sat his a** down. Go and get that rest. ‘This is the Olympics’. No, sit down dog. Like you just got all this bread bro. No disrespect to the Olympics and Olympic Games, all that, but hey man, to me in this world, hey this NBA title is more important than you know getting that gold medal. Yo, go ahead and rest up.

If I’m the Sixers, oh man, I definitely would have protested that with him. You are our main catalyst. I could see it if you were our backup center, or if you were a backup guard, or even a starting guard where we got let’s say bringing a Tyrese Maxey off the bench or something like that.

Oh yeah, go ahead, but we ain’t got nobody to back you up, bro. You are the team, you are it. When people think of the Philadelphia 76ers we think of Joel Embiid. Well, we think of Allen Iverson first, but then Joel Embiid. Man, no, sit down. He doesn’t look healthy.

Wallace added that Embiid doesn’t look healthy and appears to be laboring. He suggested that attempting to overcompensate for one banged up body part could lead to a bigger injury elsewhere. The 76ers star has been inconsistent throughout the USA Basketball Showcase, leading to calls for Anthony Davis to replace him in the starting lineup.

Joel Embiid claims he would be in GOAT discussions if not for injuries

Apr 25, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) dribbles against the New York Knicks during the second half of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid has battled injuries throughout his ten-year career, appearing in 433 of a possible 801 regular season games. He recently claimed that if it were not for injuries, he would be in the greatest of all-time discussion. Speaking to the New York Times, the seven-time All-Star stated:

I think so. I think I’m that talented. Obviously you need to win championships, and to win championships you need other guys. You can’t do it by yourself. I want to win so bad. But if you don’t, you just got to understand that as long as you care about the right stuff, if it doesn’t happen, maybe it wasn’t meant to happen.

If you think about it, the thing that stopped me all these years is just freak injuries. Every single playoffs, regular season, people falling on my knee or breaking my face — twice. It’s always freak injuries at the wrong time. [h/t New York Times]

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