Joel Embiid is having an incredible 2021/22 NBA season, becoming the favorite to win this year’s MVP award. The Philadelphia 76ers star has taken his game to the next level again, earning MVP buzz for the second straight season.
Embiid knows there are many talented players in the league right now that could give him a run for his money. Talking about it, the big man had some good things to say about his competition for the coveted award, while making a case for big men as the best players in the league.
He mentioned Nikola Jokic, as well as other players, who aren’t centers, but fit the description of big man and have been thriving in the league for several years.
“He’s an amazing player. He’s a monster. What he’s able to do on a basketball floor, it’s really crazy,” Embiid said about 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic.
“When you look at really who the best players are, it’s really big men. Whether it’s Giannis, him, Jokic, KD’s not big, but he’s 7-feet… Foreign guys are really taking over, Luka.”
Joel Embiid on Nikola Jokic: "He's a monster. What he's able to do on a basketball floor, it's really crazy."
"When you look at really who the best players are, it's really big men. Whether it's Giannis, him, Jokic, KD's 7-feet… Foreign guys are really taking over, Luka." pic.twitter.com/H0Tc75LdL5
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) March 8, 2022
Joel is speaking facts there. Even though we have forwards and guards also destroying the competition, like Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan, Chris Paul and more, big men have really taken over in the past couple of seasons.
Right now, Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo are the three biggest favorites to win the award, which tells you how dominant they have been all season long. The Cameroonian player knows the competition is huge right now, but that doesn’t mean he’ll throw shade at the players that are taking the league to the next level.
He’s been on a tear this season, and now that James Harden is his teammate, people expect a lot of good things from Embiid and co. As things stand right now, he would be getting his first MVP award at the end of the regular season, but all the players he mentioned could upset him.