LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is being investigated by the National Basketball Association (NBA) after an alleged locker-room altercation with a journalist, multiple US media reports said Saturday.

Embiid is reported to have shoved a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer who recently wrote a commentary critical of the player which referenced the Sixers ace’s son and late brother.

“We are aware of reports of an incident in the Sixers locker room this evening and are commencing an investigation,” an NBA spokesman was quoted by US media as saying.

Embiid, the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player who also played on the United States’ gold medal-winning Olympic squad this year, has not played at all this season.

In his absence, the Sixers have slumped to a 1-4 start, with their latest defeat coming in a 124-107 drubbing at home by Memphis on Saturday.

ESPN reporter Shams Charania said following Saturday’s loss Embiid had got into a “verbal back and forth” with the journalist who had written the critical column, Inquirer writer Marcus Hayes.

“Embiid took issue with a recent column that referenced his late brother and son, and Embiid shoved the columnist. No punch,” Charania said.

In an opinion piece focusing on Embiid’s injury problems, Hayes questioned the Sixers’ star’s commitment to “greatness.”

“Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his basketball career,” Hayes wrote.

“He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er.