The Philadelphia 76ers trusted the process when they drafted Joel Embiid, using the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Usually, a lottery pick is expected to make an instant impact on the team, but that wasn’t the case with Embiid.
In fact, he didn’t even play the first two seasons of his career due to a foot injury. He made his debut for the franchise in 2016 and since then has improved with each passing season.
He may have battled injuries constantly throughout his career, but Embiid has still managed to play basketball at an MVP level in the NBA. Despite his great numbers and leading the 76ers to good records during the regular season, the 28-year-old is yet to win the MVP award.
He has come close to winning it on several occasions, but the truth remains he still hasn’t won one yet. Well, Embiid may change that in the 2022-23 NBA season.
One of the reasons is because of the fact Nikola Jokic has won back-to-back NBA MVPs, so the voters’ fatigue will soon start to kick in. Another reason is simply because of the presence of James Harden on the roster.
Kendrick Perkins Believes James Harden Will Play A Vital Role In Joel Embiid Winning The MVP Award Next Season
James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers last season in exchange for Ben Simmons, who was sent to the Brooklyn Nets. In the last season, the 76ers couldn’t really optimize the duo well due to the fact they didn’t spend a lot of time together.
However, ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, Embiid and Harden have had a chance to practice a lot with each other. Thus, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins believes that Harden will help Embiid in winning the first MVP award of his career.
76ers big man @JoelEmbiid is NBA’s walk in “heavy favorite” to win league MVP this coming season notes @KendrickPerkins.
“James Harden is going to help him get it done.”
Our chat at @BallySports here ➡️ https://t.co/YneWc69LX7 pic.twitter.com/FTtL018137
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) September 14, 2022
“He’s already the walk-in as the heavy favorite. I think just averaging a cool 26 and 10, 26 and 11, having one of the best records in the NBA, he gonna get it done. And I strongly believe this, James Harden is going to help him get it done.”
Embiid has always been able to stuff the box score with stats, but he hasn’t been able to win the MVP.
One of the biggest reasons for it is the fact that he doesn’t play a lot of games. The 76ers tend to rest him thoroughly to protect him for the playoffs. Additionally, his case for being the MVP has been ruined due to constant injury troubles.
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