Through 11 games, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has put up MVP-level numbers, but the Sixers’ mediocre 6-5 record is killing any chance he has at winning the award.
Before the start of the 2018-19 season, I wrote this article explaining why Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid wouldn’t win the MVP award this season. While the chances of him winning the award is still low, I underestimated how good he was going to be this season.
When I said that Embiid’s best-case-scenario was New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis’ 28.1 points, 2.3 assists, 11.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.2 turnovers he averaged per game last season, I didn’t expect him to actually play that well this season. Embiid is averaging 28.4 points, 3.5 assists, 12.6 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers per game, and is currently one of the best players in the NBA. He is second in points per game and sixth in rebounds and blocks per game among all NBA players.
Nationally, NBA columnist have Embiid on their list of early MVP candidates. USA Today’s Charles Curtis has Embiid ranked seventh in his top MVP candidates and NBA.com’s Sekou Smith has him ranked 10th in his.
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The best examples of Embiid’s impact on the Philadelphia 76ers’ ability to win games was their Nov. 3 game against the Detroit Pistons and their Nov. 4 game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers led the Pistons 69-47 at halftime on their 109-99 win, with Embiid scoring 32 points and making 8/9 shots and 15/17 free throws in the first two quarters—resulting in the most points scored in the first half in Wells Fargo Center history.
That was the man reason they easily beat a team that beat them earlier in the season. The Sixers’ 122-97 loss to the 4-6 Nets was the team’s worst game of the season and the second game Embiid failed to score at least 20 points.
Overall Embiid’s play proved me wrong to doubt his ability to win the MVP award as soon as this season, but three of his teammates that join him in the starting lineup are averaging fewer points than they did last season and that is killing his chances of winning the award and the Sixers’ chances of being a top three team in the East.
Robert Covington (down from 12.6 points last season to 11.5 points this season), Dario Saric (down from 14.6 points to 9.8 points), and Ben Simmons (down from 15.8 points to 13.9 points) aren’t playing at the same level they played at the end of the 2017-18 when the Sixers won 16 games in a row.
Hopefully the Sixers are just starting the season slow and the rest of the team improves before the trade deadline, because if the rest of the team can give better support to Embiid, he has a realistic at being the NBA’s most valuable player.