Joel Embiid drops cryptic 4-word post amid 76ers turmoil

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers have struggled to find their rhythm this season. With injuries preventing the team's big three of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey from getting enough time on-court, the franchise has fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

On Saturday, ahead of the 76ers' game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Embiid shared a post on X. It tagged 'Crypto.com,' a cryptocurrency trading site, and included a four-word message that read:

"Block out the noise"

The message could, of course, be in reference to the criticism that the 76ers have faced so far this season. In addition to the injuries that have been plaguing the team, there's also been plenty of off-court drama. The former MVP was reportedly called out for his tardiness by Tyrese Maxey during a players' meeting.

At the same time, the message could also simply be in reference to cryptocurrency, given that the sponsored post includes a photo of Embiid wearing a HODL hoodie.

The HODL (Hold On for Deal Life) phrase has become a mantra of sorts for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. With Bitcoin approaching $100,000, the four-word message could also be in reference to those doubting BTC will cross that mark.

Looking at the latest surrounding the Joel Embiid-Philadelphia 76ers drama

As previously mentioned, amid the Philadelphia 76ers' slow start to the season, there's been plenty of focus on the team's off-court struggles too. During a players' meeting requested by veteran Kyle Lowry, Tyrese Maxey reportedly called out Joel Embiid for being habitually late to team activities.

While the former MVP has said that the meeting was a productive one, and the discussion about his tardiness lasted less than a minute, he wasn't happy that the news leaked.

On Wednesday, when the 76ers played the Memphis Grizzlies, Embiid was reportedly late once again. Chris Vernon spoke on "The Mismatch" podcast about the situation. He stated that an esteemed memorabilia collector he knows texted him pregame.

While the first team bus left at 5 p.m. and the second team bus left at 5:15 p.m. to take visiting players on the 76ers from the hotel to the arena, Joel Embiid allegedly wasn't on either:

"So the guy says, he says Embiid did not leave that hotel until 5:55 and I was like, 'What?' The game is at seven and what's crazy about this Jacobe, he warmed up super late and warmed up for about 3 to 5 minutes and then went and played in the game.

"He ended up having maybe the least impressive 35 and 11 I've ever seen in my life and flopped on a free throw, flopped all the way down the court against Jaren Jackson, and then almost purposely tripped over his feet. It was just bizarre."

Despite filling the stat sheet, Embiid and the 76ers lost Wednesday's game 117-111. Since then, they've bounced back with a 113-98 win over Brooklyn leading up to Sunday's clash with the Clippers, which Embiid is expected to miss with knee swelling.