Charles Barkley: If Embiid Had Real Coach He’d Be Greatest Sixer Ever
Joel Embiid has had a great career to this point. He won an MVP, finished as the runner-up for 2 more, and put up scoring numbers unheard of for a…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 13: Head Coach Brett Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers talks with Joel Embiid #21 during the fourth quarter of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on January 13, 2019 in New York City.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Joel Embiid has had a great career to this point. He won an MVP, finished as the runner-up for 2 more, and put up scoring numbers unheard of for a Center. Still, many consider him a disappointment. Between injuries, missed time, and the Sixers lack of playoff success, Embiid has not led the franchise to the great heights we hoped for. Charles Barkley thinks it goes back to Brett Brown.
Barkley joined Mike Missanelli. Among many things, they discussed Joel Embiid. And Barkley said that if Embiid had a better coach when he was a rookie, he would have been the greatest player in Sixers history.
"If Joel had had a real coach from the beginning, I think his career would be totally different. If he had like a real coach from the beginning, like a Billy Cunningham, I think he would have been the greatest player in Sixers history. I'm not saying no disrespect to Doc or Wilt, or myself. I think if he had a real coach from the beginning, who held him accountable, I'd think he wouldn't have been the greatest player in Sixers history."
Obviously Brett Brown was the coach when Embiid got to Philadelphia. This is not the first time someone criticized him for going too easy on his young players. People said the same thing about Brown and Ben Simmons. If Brown coached Simmons harder, maybe his career would have gone in a different direction.
Embiid has had way more success than Simmons. Despite the injuries and the lack of playoff success, Embiid is still one of the best players of this era. He currently has the highest points per minute average in NBA History. But the injuries are hard to overlook. While they are not all his fault, his work ethic has been questioned at times, which is also something Barkley got into with Mike Miss.
Barkley shared a story about how, when the Sixers were running a scrimmage, Joel Embiid sat down. Something both Barkley and Billy Cunningham took note of.
Embiid's teammates confronted him this year about being late to team activities. Before the season completely imploded, the team had a closed-door meeting. In that meeting, Maxey called out Embiid's tardiness.
The talent of Embiid is undeniable. When on the court, Embiid is elite. Even when playing through injuries. Just look at the on/off numbers for the Sixers in playoff series with Embiid. They are a different team when he is not out there. A big criticism of the Sixers is how reliant they are on Embiid, and how they completely fall apart when he is not there.
Mike asked Charles Barkley what advice he would give to Embiid, who is now trying to bounce back after missing nearly all of the 2024-2025 season. Barkley kept it simple.
"I think the first thing I'd say is, yo man, you've got to get in better shape... You can't do anything about getting hurt. But you have got to get into better condition. Cause at least if you're in great condition, you'd get hurt less. That's, that's just a no-brainer."
For now, the Sixers seem to be running it back. Whether or not that works relies heavily on the health of Embiid. A gamble the Sixers have taken every year that has yet to pay off. I suppose we will see if next year is the year that changes.
If you are looking for someone to blame, Charles Barkley pointed the finger directly at Brett Brown. Perhaps the careers of Simmons and Embiid would be different with a firmer hand at the wheel.
