For only the second time in his career, Joel Embiid didn’t get a free throw attempt in a regular season game. After the loss against the Miami Heat, the big man thought that was a first. But it was not. The previous time he didn’t shoot a free throw all night was on February 9th, 2018, vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.
With the loss, the Philadelphia 76ers hit rock bottom and are now tied with the Washington Wizards for the worst record in the league. They have lost four in a row, and the last loss came with both Paul George and Embiid in the lineup.
Per Bleacher Report, this is only the second time in Joel’s career that he has shot zero free throws. The last one came in 2018, and he has led the league in free throw attempts since. For the past three seasons, Embiid has averaged more than 11 free throws per game. He averaged 11.8, 11.7, and 11.6 attempts for the past three seasons. Shooting free throws at a rate higher than 80%, those are all easy buckets for the big man.
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Following the loss against the Miami Heat, a game in which he had only 11 points, Embiid took the blame. It was an abysmal loss and one that proved the 76ers will need more than just health to get back to winning days. They led 46-27 at one point in the second quarter. Then after the third quarter, the score was 88-72 for Miami, a 61-26 run. That kind of run is inexcusable for a championship-contending team.
Talking to the media after the game, Embiid said,
“We know where we are at, and we know we got to do better. We sure will. It is unacceptable and something is gonna be done about it. We’ll be fine. It starts with the best player, always having a mindset of, you know, it’s not alarming. I have that mindset. PG has that mindset, just having our mindset because I feel eases a lot of guys”.
He also took a subtle shot at the refs. When asked about Miami’s advantage in free throw attempts, he said,
“I don’t know. I took zero free throws. That must be a first.”
When Joel Embiid is aggressive, it creates opportunities for the whole team. As previously stated, he has averaged 11+ attempts per game for the last three seasons. Some Nuggets fans might say that free throw attempts are the reason he won the MVP versus Nikola Jokic two years ago. That year, Joel averaged 33 points, 11.7 FT attempts, and 10.2 rebounds. Jokic, on the other hand, averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and only 6 free throw attempts per game.
Embiid currently ranks third all-time with 10.1 free throw attempts per game. Wilt Chamberlain is the all-time leader at 11.4 per game. Ultimately, Embiid typically gets to the line at a historic rate, but since returning from injury, he hasn’t been the same he will have to amp up his aggression to help turn the Sixers’ season around.
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The Boston Celtics had some veterans on their Summer League roster. That includes some players who were on last year's team, including Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman. That also includes NBA veterans which include Kenneth Lofton Jr., Isaiah Wong, and Charles Bassey. Bassey made himself stand out in the Celtics Summer League. In three games with the team, he averaged 15.3 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks a game while shooting 70.4% from the field. Despite his standout performance, a Celtics executive told Spotrac's Keith Smith that they weren't sure if the Celtics would be able to sign him. "Considering he got added to our team so late, this was an awesome run for him," the executive told Smith. "No idea if we’ll have roster space for him or not. But we’d love to keep working with Charles and see if we can make something work." Despite the Celtics having interest in keeping Bassey with the team, it appears any potential deal has fallen through. European Basketball Insider Luca D'Allesandro reported that Bassey's agent, Marc McNeil, has revealed the center is in touch with an overseas team and seemingly preparing for an NBA departure. "Charles Bassey’s agent, Marc McNeil, revealed in a statement for (Meridian Sport Srbija) that his client is in negotiations with Partizan and that the black-and-whites are his top priority," D'Alesandro wrote. "He also mentioned that there is interest from other Euroleague teams." Bassey has played for the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs from 2021 to 2025. In his last season with the Spurs, he averaged 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks while shooting 58.1% from the field.
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Dallas Cowboys fans appear to have one thing on their mind during training camp, and they made sure to let team owner Jerry Jones know about it on Saturday. Hundreds of Cowboys fans showed up to the team's annual "Opening Day Ceremony" on Saturday in Oxnard, California. Jones addressed the crowd, and the 82-year-old was greeted with a lot of restless supporters when he took the microphone. As Jones began talking about how disappointed he was with his team's 7-10 season last year, many fans shouted the same two-word message: "Pay Micah!" The fans eventually settled enough for Jones to urge them to take note of all the changes the Cowboys have made this offseason. "I was shocked last year when we ended up with the record that we had. I never saw that coming. I want you to know, and I want you to look for as you watch practices this week, I want you to watch what we've done in the areas that we needed to work on," Jones said. "Look at what we've done in this offensive line. Look at what we've done, if you will, with our receiver cops. Look at what we're doing with our defense. A lot of changes out here -- a lot of coaching changes, a lot of player changes." Parsons is set to make $24M in the final year of his rookie contract this season. He is undoubtedly seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football, which would mean topping the $41M per year T.J. Watt recently got with his new deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Parsons had 12 or more sacks in each of his first four NFL seasons. Jones has hinted that he is playing hardball with the star linebacker in contract negotiations, and Cowboys fans do not seem to appreciate it.