Paul George Details Joel Embiid’s Relationship With Teammates Created an Unlikely Leader in 76ers Locker Room

Losing your star player for a few games due to an injury is a nuisance in itself, but what happens if the same keeps happening throughout a season? That is the dilemma the Philadelphia 76ers had to deal with in their recent regular season run.

Joel Embiid signing a 3-year contract extension worth $193 million, along with Paul George’s acquisition, was set to mark a new beginning for the 76ers. Unfortunately, with Embiid missing 63 of 82 games due to ailment issues, that ‘beginning’ faltered, as the 76ers ended up recording the 5th worst win record of the season.

With their leader missing, the 76ers scrambled to find a new voice of guidance, the details of which were recently revealed by George himself.

In the latest episode of The Pivot Podcast, the 9x NBA All-Star touched base on the 76ers’ recent run. George revealed that he sympathized with Joel Embiid, since the latter wanted to play but was restricted due to his injuries.

At the same time, he emphasized that “I came here to play with him, you know what I mean. I came to Philly to play with him”. With Embiid out, it was up to everyone to figure out how to proceed.

As Paul George recalled, “We were always kind of scrambling, I think, trying to figure out all right, this is how we got to play tonight. This is how, you know, we going to run through this. We going to run through that now. We going to change the plays, we going to, you know, ‘all right Tyrese, we need more from you tonight’”.

Amidst all this, the small forward and the 76ers squad found a new voice to follow.

“I think for our locker room, Kyle Lowry stepped up, and was the voice every single day” George revealed. “‘Listen, this is what it is today. This is who we are, right here, right now. We got to go out there, and we got to control what we can control’. I thought he did a great job of that”.

George highlighted how Lowry brought a new sort of culture that became the norm in the locker room. While he, Kelly Oubre Jr., Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid himself chimed in from time to time, Lowry brought a different set of leadership to the 76ers. It might have helped the team win the small percentage of games that they did.

At 39 years of age, Lowry is the oldest player on the 76ers squad, and the 5th oldest currently in the NBA. Along with the 19 years of experience he carries, Lowry also knows what it is like to play for a championship team. After all, he was with the Toronto Raptors when they secured the title back in 2019.

As a member of the 76ers squad during the 2024-25 season, Lowry could not deliver his best on the court, averaging just 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, aka his career low. In his defense, not every player can be as athletic as LeBron James when they are approaching 40. On top of that, the veteran was also reportedly dealing with a bothersome hip injury that limited his performance.

Dec 20, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry (7) controls the ball against the Charlotte Hornets in the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Nevertheless, as reported by Sixers Wire, Lowry was still pushing players to succeed and giving them pointers. That, all in all, made up a bit for the void left by Embiid’s exit.

“Joel, he wants to say stuff and he wants to but I think he was thinking from a view of like ‘man I’m not playing’, so like I don’t know how these new guys is gonna take all of this in”. Paul George added. “Um, you know, Kyle coming in. He’s won a championship, so he knows what a locker room, a culture looks like, you know”.

Kyle Lowry’s first season with the Philadelphia 76ers might not have gone the way he wanted to. After all, being a 39-year-old athlete with almost 2 decades of experience, and a championship title, he wouldn’t have wanted to spend his last NBA years with a team that ends up the 13th seed on the Eastern Conference table.

Despite that, the veteran is not losing hope on the 76ers anytime soon.

Kyle Lowry revealed desire to mentor 76ers teammates

Back in late April, Liberty Ballers reporter Erin Grugan was able to cover several Philadelphia 76ers players and their expectations for the next season. When discussing Kyle Lowry, Quinten Grimes highlighted how “[Lowry] was a vocal leader for us. Even the games when he wasn’t playing—at halftime, pregame, after games, during practice—he’s always teaching the younger guys, always helping me out”.

Grugan also highlighted how Lowry has been through it all in the last two decades, but he has not forgotten what it is like to be a young player on the floor, looking for guidance on how to make a mark. That is something the veteran wishes to continue, even if he doesn’t play as well on the court anymore.

“The only thing is they call me ancient, so it’s the only problem I have with it,” said Lowry. “But that’s what I’m here for, man. As a competitor, of course I want to be on the floor, playing and competing. But as an elder statesman in the league you get enjoyment out of watching these kids grow because I was once in their shoes and I’ve been through the things that they’ve been through. Sometimes playing, sometimes not playing, sometimes getting big minutes and having great shooting games, then having terrible shooting games and just figuring how to ride the wave and stay consistent is what I get out of that—just trying to help them be consistent.”

Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry (7) passes the ball while diving during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Lowry will be an unrestricted free agent in this ongoing offseason. However, according to reports, he has no desire to join any other team, and he exited the 2024-25 season with a preference to stay in his home city.

No one knows whether Joel Embiid will continue being healthy for extended periods in the next season. Therefore, at least from the guidance point of view, it is nice to know that there is one 76ers player that others can look upto.

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