This season, Joel Embiid has put himself firmly in the lead for MVP. But even as the 76ers star closes in on his first Michael Jordan Trophy, he doesn’t yet have a ‘championship or bust’ mentality for the 76ers.
As the season winds down, Embiid has proven once again he can deliver in the regular season, but that doesn’t mean we should have high expectations for the 76ers this summer. In a recent chat with The Athletic, Embiid made a pretty unexpected connection to 2x MVP Nikola Jokic as he explained why he doesn’t feel as much pressure to win this season as some fans might think.
“Not necessarily,” said Embiid if this postseason was ‘championship or bust’ (via Shams Charania). “I don’t care about the pressure that everybody puts on me. All I care about is the pressure that I put on myself to win. People have been talking about who has the most pressure to win. People want to mention me. I’m not at the top of that list. I’m not a two-time MVP, I’ve never made first team All-NBA, I’ve never won anything. So why is there pressure on me to do something when there are guys that have won two MVPs, a bunch of MVPs and haven’t done anything either?”
Of course, he didn’t name Jokic by name, but the Nuggets star is on the verge of being a 3x MVP without a single Finals appearance to show for it.
Meanwhile, Embiid has been about just as far and isn’t nearly as decorated. Unfortunately, that may not be changing anytime soon, either.
What Happens If The 76ers Fall Short Again?
There is no doubt that Embiid wants to go all the way, but he seems aware of how hard the task really is. Despite how good the 76ers are with Joel, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey, there is steep competition in the East that could keep them out of the final round of the playoffs.
“I feel it’s hard to win in this league,” said Embiid. “You got two great teams in Milwaukee and Boston in my conference. So we have to play them at some point. Those are two really good teams, and it’s going to be a fight to beat them. But I think we match up extremely well with each team, and for us to win, we have to be almost perfect. Everybody has to show up. I got to do my job. James has got to do his job. Tyrese (Maxey) has to show up. Tobias (Harris). The role players, the bench, we all have to come in and do our jobs. For us to win, we have to be perfect, and it’s going to take everybody.”
If the Sixers fall out early again, it’s hard to say where they’d go from there, but Embiid is clearly taking things one game at a time, and his internal pressure to win has not moved at all despite rising in the MVP conversation.
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