When Joel Embiid was forced to sit out for the first 2 seasons of his NBA career due to injuries, many had written off his chances of being special in the league. Big men with injury issues early on in their careers don’t tend to last too long and it is really a story we have seen play out numerous times in the NBA.
Embiid, however, bucked that trend and has gone on to have a fantastic career. He has been bothered by injuries but continues to push on ahead and he came into this season after having finished runner-up for MVP in 2021 as well as 2022.
Shaquille O’Neal Says Joel Embiid Must Win Unanimous MVP This Season
This past season was Embiid’s best in the NBA, as he led the league in scoring for the first time by averaging 30.6 points per game. It still wasn’t enough to wrestle away the MVP from Nikola Jokic, however, and Embiid was quite upset at missing out on the award yet again. He is done with the MVP race now, as he stated he doesn’t care anymore, but Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal wants him to aim for unanimous MVP this season.
https://twitter.com/nbaontnt/status/1583947856330702848
“If he doesn’t get unanimous MVP, I’ll be disappointed.”
Those are very high expectations as only one man has ever won the MVP unanimously, and that was Stephen Curry in 2016. Shaq got close once at his peak in 2000 when he fell one vote shy and we doubt Embiid is going to have a season like the ones those two had back then.
He’d happily take the MVP award even if he won by a single vote, but that’s probably not what’s on his mind right now. The Sixers are off to a terrible start to the season, as they have fallen to 0-3 after an embarrassing defeat to the Spurs and Embiid certainly gets the blame for 2 of those losses.
He played well below his normal level in their opening 2 games against the Celtics as well as the Bucks and Shaq criticized him for his play against Boston. Embiid bounced back with a 40-point outing against the Spurs but it wasn’t enough to get the win and you do wonder where the Sixers are headed this season. Sure, it is still very early on, but you’d have expected a much better start, and if they don’t turn things around soon, then some changes might be in order.
