The Philadelphia 76ers haven't even kicked off their 2026-27 regular season, and there already appears to be some extracurriculars with them through the media. This first one involves Joel Embiid reportedly being chewed out by LeBron James for being late to practice.

During the 76ers home preseason opener against the New York Knicks on Monday evening, legendary Knicks play-by-play broadcaster Mike Breen made a mention that he was told Embiid was “a few minutes late” to a recent on-court practice the Sixers were holding and when he arrived, was talked to about it by LeBron James.

“I had somebody tell me before the game that they were out and ready to practice,” Breen said on the broadcast. “And Joel Embiid walked out on the court a couple of minutes late and LeBron let him hear it.”

Mike Breen says he was told Joel Embiid showed up a couple minutes late to Sixers practice and LeBron "let him hear it." pic.twitter.com/zLx3ElnCdp

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 6, 2026

That was last night, and less than 24 hours later, James wasted no time clearing up what was starting to make the rounds on social media.

“He ain't been late so stop the lies,” James said with a blue cap emoji, highlighting the original report in his Instagram story with the comment.

LeBron came out and refuted this story tonight on Instagram: https://t.co/cNx5QZRqKF pic.twitter.com/djV7zfAURx

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 7, 2026

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The 76ers will play their next two preseason games against the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics before returning home for a contest against Boston in Philly. It remains to be seen whether LeBron James will play in any of those games as the Sixers gear up for a big season.

The 76ers are set to tip off their 2026-27 regular season against Jalen Brunson and the 2026 NBA Champion New York Knicks on Tuesday, October 20th. In his 23rd season in the NBA last year, LeBron James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Los Angeles Lakers while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.