Joel Embiid has played at an extremely high level this year, and even though he didn’t have a co-star for a large portion of the season, he still managed to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a lot of wins. Joel Embiid is currently leading the league in scoring, with 29.7 PPG.
There have been a lot of conversations about Joel Embiid potentially winning the MVP award this season. Analyst Antonio Daniels once claimed that Joel Embiid will win the MVP due to the fact that he’s putting up “Wilt Chamberlain-type numbers”.
Right now Joel Embiid is my MVP… If you breakdown his last 4-5 games, he’s giving you 42 and about 13 rebounds. He has been special all year long. He’s putting up Wilt Chamberlain-type numbers.
There is no doubt that Joel Embiid has a fantastic case for the MVP award. However, there are other players who are putting up spectacular numbers, such as Nikola Jokic. Though it seems as if the MVP race is still going on, Brian Scalabrine has claimed that the MVP race is already over, as he pointed out that it will be hard for Nikola Jokic to win two times in a row.
The incredible seasons of Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have impressed @TheFrankIsola & @Scalabrine
But Scal says the MVP race is already over. Who does he think has the award locked up? 👇 pic.twitter.com/o7WLoQvhMk
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) March 8, 2022
Brian Scalabrine: Those two guys are probably the two most dominant players in the NBA this season… You feel them every possession… They make people around them better… Both of those guys are just unstoppable players.
Frank Isola: It feels like it’s neck and neck now doesn’t it?
Brian Scalabrine: Not for me… I’m saying what I think the people are gonna vote, the way people vote will be Embiid. Because Jokic has to be so much better than Embiid to win, because he won last year.
There is no doubt that sometimes voter fatigue exists when it comes to voting for the MVP award. For example, Brad Stevens once claimed that LeBron James would win more MVP awards if voters didn’t get bored.
With that being said, if Joel Embiid does win the MVP award, he will most certainly deserve it. He is an offensive powerhouse that also provides elite rim protection. It remains to be seen if he does end up winning it, but it certainly seems as though many believe this is his year.
