Mike Breen apologizes for his erroneous LeBron James-Joel Embiid story

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Mike Breen apologizes for his erroneous LeBron James-Joel Embiid story

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Oct 7, 2026 10:20 PM ET

Mike Breen is doing a 180 this week after getting called out by LeBron James.

The veteran sportscaster Breen was on the call for Monday’s preseason game between the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. Breen, in addition to his national TV duties, calls Knicks games on the MSG Network.

During the broadcast, Breen shared a supposed anecdote about James and his 76ers co-star Joel Embiid. Breen claimed that Embiid had been a couple minutes late to a recent team practice and was scolded by James as a result.

Missed this last night from the Knicks broadcast… Mike Breen says he was told before the game that Joel Embiid walked out to practice a couple minutes late & LeBron James let him hear it. I cannot confirm this, BUT don’t hate hearing it. Accountability. https://t.co/fRe6OFgM8b
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) October 6, 2026

On Tuesday though, James disputed that claim entirely. He took to Instagram to say of Embiid, “He ain’t been late so stop the lies.”

LeBron says Embiid has not been late to practice and the story circulating is cap https://t.co/AGtCmj8i6M
— (@MaskedInLA) October 6, 2026

In response, Breen issued an apology on Wednesday. Speaking with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Breen said that he was “disappointed” with how the anecdote had been interpreted.

“I’m so disappointed how the story was interpreted,” said Breen. “The whole intent was praising LeBron for already having an impact on the team’s professionalism and accountability, even something so benign as a player getting on the court for practice a minute or two late.

“I thought it would be an interesting anecdote to show LeBron’s leadership already on display in Philly,” Breen added. “For me, the fact that the teammate was Joel was meaningless. In hindsight, I should have realized the fact that it was Joel is what made it a story. I’ve always been a huge fan of Joel and feel awful that it put the focus on him the way that it did.

“I don’t know why the person who told me the story would make it up, but if LeBron says it never happened then I believe him and apologize for putting it out there,” Breen concluded.

The four-time champion James, 41, is about to enter his first season with the 76ers, whom Embiid, 32, has been with for his entire career since 2014. There was one notable claim over the summer that James allegedly had some concerns about Embiid’s durability, but apparently he does not have any such concerns about Embiid’s punctuality.

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