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Philadelphia star Joel Embiid admits he “hated the idea” of the NBA restarting amid the pandemic

Many other players would agree.

Photo: USA Today

Joel Embiid has confessed to being uncomfortable with the NBA’s plans to restart the 2019/20 season while the pandemic persists, but has assured Philadelphia 76ers fans he won’t let them down.

The center is just one of several NBA players who questioned the NBA’s decision-making, with various squad members having opted to sit out the restart ahead of the targeted July 30 date.

“I hated the idea,” Embiid told reporters on Tuesday, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I feel like with everything that has been going on, it’s unfortunate what’s been going on in the world. Obviously people look at it in a different way. There might be some other reasons behind everything going on. To me, that part never mattered. To me, all I want is to stay healthy and stay safe, keep the people around me safe. I want to make sure I’m able to live for a long time and not have any sort of consequences in the future from this if I were to be in a situation where I was getting the virus.

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Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of the idea. But then again, I’m going to do my job. I’m not going to let the city down. I’m going to represent my city — that’s what I’ve always done — my family, my teammates. The mindset doesn’t change. It doesn’t matter the fact that I don’t like that idea and I still don’t believe in it. I don’t think it’s going to be safe enough.”

Joel Embiid says he’s pretty sure he can follow the NBA’s rules for the bubble and he knows he won’t put anyone at risk. However, he doesn’t trust everyone else to do the same.

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