Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have arguably been the two most dominant players in the NBA over the last two seasons. Jokic won the MVP last season quite comfortably after a historic performance as he led the injury-ridden Denver Nuggets to the playoffs in the Western Conference. Joel Embiid was performing at an equally high level, if not slightly better before injuries took him out of running for the award. And this season the two have picked up right where they left off.
After the league moved away from relying on the center position over the last decade or so, Jokic and Embiid have reminded the NBA of the influence that big men can have on the game of basketball. Naturally, this has led to comparisons between the two and the latest NBA personalities to debate the duo are Jamal Crawford and Kevin Garnett, who discussed which of the two MVP candidates they think would beat the other in a 1-on-1 matchup.
Garnett: “If you had the choice between the two, who would you pick?”
Crawford: “Ooh, that may just come down to health. I may have to go with Joker, just on health. Embiid is a monster though, it’s tough. Who else I got on the the team?”
Garnett: “Nobody. You got these two. You gotta pick one. You need a start a team, you need a big, between these two, who would you pick?”
Crawford: It come down to health, but I gotta pick Joker. It’s tough though, for sure.”
Garnett: “I’m going with the big fella Joel. I see fear in guys’ eyes when he steps up and takes a power dribble.”
Crawford: “If there was no health involved, I’d take Embiid. I gotta factor in health.”
Garnett: “1-on-1 though, who wins the 1-on-1 matchup?”
Crawford: “Oh, Embiid.”
Garnett: “You think so?”
Crawford: “Yeah, Embiid wins that. No doubt.”
Garnett: “No doubt? I can’t even, okay, I can’t even decide.”
Crawford: “Embiid, yeah. Embiid wins 1-on-1.”
In the 5 games that Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have faced each other in, Embiid’s team has won 4 out of 5 matchups. However, Jokic has managed more points and more assists than Embiid in those games. The two are very evenly matched, and each has a unique strength. Joel is the better defender while Jokic is a revolutionary playmaker when it comes to offense. The MVP race promises to be close this season, even though Embiid has pulled away a little in recent games.
