That was the biggest takeaway from Dotun Akintoye’s phenomenal Joel Embiid feature that ran on ESPN on Wednesday morning. The enigmatic Philadelphia 76ers superstar provided rare access and vulnerability talking about the ups and downs of his NBA career in the type of longform piece that rarely exists in today’s media landscape.

The Philadelphia 76ers had an intern oversee Joel Embiid's rookie season injury recovery process, according to ESPN. Embiid spent two years waiting to play for the Philadelphia 76ers because he required surgery in his right foot in 2014 and 2015. According to ESPN, Embiid had a hard time getting his frustrations at the time heard by the team.

After the Philadelphia 76ers got off to a 2-11 start to the 2024-25 season, the team held a closed-doors meeting to clear the air and set the tone for what they hoped would be a turnaround.

“When I told Lisa (Salters) that, I think it was a cry for help. … It feels like everybody refuses to acknowledge what's actually going on.”