Former NBA veteran Marcus Morris recently shared some candid thoughts about one of the superstars he played alongside during his career. Morris spent a season with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he had the opportunity to play with MVP center Joel Embiid. Now in his new media role, Morris offers insights into his time in the league and his perspectives on today’s active players.
**Morris’s Surprising Take on Embiid’s Work Ethic**
“Just coming from different teams and seeing people at that level work as hard as they did but not really seeing him do the same,” Morris said. “Like, it kind of threw me off because his production still matched. He had 70 last year, bro. He did not f**ing warm up. Like, literally he did not warm up.”
Joel Embiid is widely known for his dominance when healthy, but also for his struggles with staying on the court consistently enough for the 76ers to make a serious title push. Morris made it clear that he respects Embiid’s talent—especially the fact that Embiid scored a historic 70-point game without warming up. However, Morris’s bigger critique is that Embiid doesn’t put in the same work ethic off the court as other superstars he has played with.
**Morris’s Biggest Criticism of Embiid**
Throughout his 13-plus seasons in the NBA, Marcus Morris has shared locker rooms with many elite players, including Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, and Donovan Mitchell. He emphasized that at the highest level, top stars consistently set the tone by working hard and leading through effort.
Embiid’s apparent lack of consistent hard work stood out to Morris and made him view the All-Star center differently—until Embiid began dominating on the court. Morris acknowledged Embiid’s confidence in his natural talent, suggesting that this is why Embiid may not always feel the need to practice hard or warm up extensively.
Still, the 76ers have yet to reach the Eastern Conference Finals during Embiid’s era. Injuries and questions about Embiid’s conditioning have hurt his reputation. At one point, some argued Embiid was better than Nikola Jokic, but nowadays, few would realistically name him the top center in the league. There remains skepticism that Embiid can put it all together for a deep playoff run.
**How Can Embiid Prove Morris Wrong?**
The Philadelphia 76ers have started the current season strong, boasting a 3-0 record and positioning themselves as outside contenders behind the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers in a somewhat limited Eastern Conference.
However, Embiid has missed one of those three games and is currently on a minutes restriction due to lingering injury concerns from last season and the most recent offseason. Meanwhile, new stars like Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecomb are drawing attention for forming a dynamic starting backcourt.
Doubts about Embiid’s ability to reclaim his status as one of the league’s premier players are lingering, but his performance in limited minutes has been promising. To truly silence critics like Morris, Embiid must fully commit to his fitness and recovery. Even if he isn’t scoring 30 points every night, his presence and playmaking can provide valuable contributions and complement Philadelphia’s rising talents.
Embiid needs to embrace the importance of non-game activities such as practice and conditioning work. Putting his all into these areas can improve his durability and overall performance—ultimately proving Morris’s criticism wrong and helping the 76ers make a deeper playoff run.
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/philadelphia-76ers/former-teammate-calls-out-joel-embiid/