The NBA may very well be regarded as a guard’s league at the moment but that doesn’t mean we don’t get to see some exceptional play from the big men. Nikola Jokic is, of course, the back-to-back MVP and he has been outstanding in 2022-23 as well but he isn’t the only big man to have looked utterly dominant on the court this season.
Joel Embiid put on an incredible show against Jokic recently as he had a 47-point, 18-rebound outing to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a big win. Embiid is leading the league by averaging 33.8 PPG and he has looked utterly dominant whenever he has stepped onto the court. Injuries are really the only thing that can hold Embiid back and that is the case for another big man as well. Anthony Davis recently returned for the Lakers after spending over a month on the sidelines with an injury and he was looking like the most dominant big man in the league prior to that. Considering the similarities between these two, u/cacheKTxP on Reddit asked which big man you would want at their absolute best, and here’s what Redditors had to say about that.
“i think at the end of the career the answer will be embiid but embiid has yet to have a playoff run that comes close to bubble AD who looked absolutely unstoppable all the way to the chip”
“If Embiid had 2020 LeBron at any point over the last 3 seasons, he wins at least 1 chip.”
“AD, which is bubble AD. Best defender in the league & he was shooting insane he was shooting Dirk %s from the mid range & like 38% from 3”
“Embiid. Far better at creating for himself offensively especially in the post. I’ll take that over the difference between AD’s great defense and Embiid’s “only” very very good defense”
“AD is much more consistent in a playoff setting. On both ends of the court.”
“Jo. Trust him to be the #1 player on a team a lot more than Ad”
“AD. People forget how absolutely unreal he was at his peak, and he looked like that guy to start the season. Joel is a better facilitator and a more complete scorer, but peak AD’s athleticism and defensive coverage give him the edge for me.”
“I do not get why people are picking AD. It’s Embiid, and it’s not close. Plus, Embiid is a first option while AD is a second option on offense.”
“Joel. I see him as more of a #1 option. AD can settle too much given how talented he is.”
“When healthy AD is just a winner. An absolute problem if his body allows him to perform. I think they’re very comparable in skill & athleticism but I’ll take the intangibles of AD. Embid will grow to be a better player if he can stay healthy and develop playoff superstar mentality (Lebron, Curry, Kobe, etc).”
“Id take AD. Bubble ad would be his peak and his switch defense and shooting set him apart from Joel IMO”
“No disrespect to AD, a great great player when healthy, but …. The ‘Bubble’ year and Playoffs were a classic asterisk year. Everything was a distortion.”
“I think Embid because he is way more consistent night to night and has consistently took his team to high seed as the #1. Also, Embid, I feel is just a better leader and takes on challenges and responsibilities. Skill wise, they are both great do it all big men and while AD is more versatile, he also has refused to play the 5 as the #1 option.”
“Bubble AD was on another level. Embiid hasn’t reached that yet.”
“Embiid at his best for sure. Tho AD was also equally dominant vs Jokic in the 2020 playoffs, that was Jokic when he was a very bad defender.”
“Assuming 100 percent health and 0 chance of injury. give me AD. But it’s so close.”
“AD is great but I’m taking Embiid.”
“Embiid flames out in the playoffs. I’ll take AD”
They were quite split here and there really isn’t much to separate these two. Davis will always have that title to fall back on though and Embiid never even making it to the Conference Finals is a big knock on him. He has a chance at changing that this season, as the Sixers are looking great at the moment.
The Sixers Are On A Tear
It was a rough start to the season for the Sixers but they are playing at a very high level at the moment. The win over the Nuggets was their 7th in a row and they are now the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 32-16 record.
With Embiid playing at a supremely high level and relishing the challenge of being the closer, there is hope that this might finally be the year that they put it all together. James Harden has been pretty good for them as well and he also stated that this is his best chance at winning a championship.
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