Stephen Curry picked Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid as his MVP this season. The latter has been one of the frontrunners for the award with Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, “I would say, Joel,” Curry said. “Any person you pick, their body of work could be compared to Jokić or Giannis. But Joel took a leap that I think a lot of people didn’t expect because he was dominant already. That leap turned heads and put Philly in a great position. If I had to pick, it would be him.”
The battle of the centers has swung back and forth repeatedly between the two big men. In terms of numbers, Jokic is averaging 24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 9.9 assists this season. The Sixers’ mainstay has been notching up 33.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.
Curry is one of the notable names missing from the MVP list this season. While he briefly made the top 10 earlier, injuries and significant loss of game time kept the sharpshooter out of the reckoning.
Joel Embiid Was Also Damian Lillard’s MVP Choice
Damian Lillard was another sharpshooter who had Joel Embiid as his MVP this season. And, like Curry, he had his reasons. Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, the Portland Trail Blazers star picked Embiid over the Serbian.
“I picked Joel Embiid because I feel like he’s been dominant all season long,” Lillard said. “His team is winning. I feel like he could have won it one of the last two years, but Jokic won it both times.”
“And I just think because he’s been, to me, the most dominant player, he’s been carrying his team,” he further added. “I think you can’t continue to give it to a guy who’s won it twice in a row, especially when you have a guy like this that’s performing at the same level for maybe even higher, and he also didn’t get it one of the last two times when he was at that level. That’s not how it should work.”
On his part, Embiid has been quite vocal about his views on MVP and has maintained his stance on winning the NBA championship as the larger objective.
Only time will tell if the Sixers’ superstar will indeed win the award. Safe to say, he’s got the vote of some of the best in the business.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
