In the phenomenal career of Joel Embiid thus far, he has been in the MVP conversation more often than not. He has come up just short two years in a row in favor of the Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic but is this year different?
Embiid has been masterful thus far this season. The Sixers superstar is averaging nearly 34 points per game while shooting 53% from the field, both well above his career averages. The big story with Embiid the past couple of seasons is that he misses too many games but all of this damage is being done with him missing only 11 games thus far.
Embiid has the fifth best odds to win the MVP award this year per Fanduel Sportsbook, behind Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum. After a stellar performance against the Jazz that included a game-winner itâs fair to ask the question, why is Embiid getting little to no MVP consideration?
In short, the Sixers have been kind of boring to watch this season. They havenât been great and they havenât been bad theyâve just coasted. Even though the team is sitting 10 games above the .500 mark, it doesnât really feel like it.
The fanbase and the general public seem to be lukewarm on the entire Sixers team this year. With a roster like the Sixers have, they should be among the top dogs in the Eastern Conference and the eye test tells you that they just arenât, but it doesnât have to be this way the rest of the year.
The Sixers certainly have a ton of talent, but Joel Embiid is at the top of that list. Embiid is the reason they are ten games above .500 despite James Harden and Tyrese Maxey missing a ton of time this year. If Embiid can continue to put up these eye popping numbers and find a way to get the team playing together down the stretch to put them in a good position heading into the playoffs, there is a very good chance his name moves up drastically on that list.
Photo via Getty Images – Mitchell Leff
