Knicks legend rips 76ers' Joel Embiid for 'crying too much'

Joel Embiid has always worn his emotions on his sleeve and hasn't shied away from shedding tears on camera, be it at postgame pressers, award ceremonies or even after season-ending losses.

Since returning from midseason knee surgery, an emotional Embiid has spoken in length about the physical and mental torment he's had to endure to return to the court. After dropping a playoff-high 50 points last week, Embiid almost sounded like a man who feels the universe has wronged him. 

"Every single year, it's very annoying. Maybe it's just meant to be," Embiid said of his misfortune with injuries via SixersWire. "Just got to take it as it is, but the one thing I'm not going to do is give up. No matter what happens, got to keep pushing, got to keep fighting."

Most would applaud those words and hail Embiid a warrior.

But Knicks legend Charles Oakley is tired of hearing the Sixers big man "crying" and making excuses.

"Everybody says he's hurt," Oakley told SiriusXM NBA Radio via New York Post. "If you're hurt, stay home and watch it on TV like everybody else is doing. I don't want hear this, 'I'm giving it my all.' You're a seven-footer shooting 3s. I mean, you stand out around the 3-point line what the guards gonna do? So I think that, you know, they cry too much. 

"All these guys in the league cry too much. He's too big to be crying. I'm sorry I said about two years ago, he could be the next Wilt Chamberlain. I don't know. He could be the next Dunkin Donut or somebody because he just cry."

Despite laboring through injury, Embiid is averaging 31.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists through five games in these playoffs. The Sixers trail the Knicks 3-2 in the series.