The Sixers may have the MVP frontrunner in Joel Embiid.
We are over a month into the 2020-21 NBA season, and Joel Embiid is playing the best basketball of his career. The 7-footer is averaging 28.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 31.8 minutes. He is shooting 58.8 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from deep, and 84.3 percent on 11.2 free throws per game. Absurdity.
Embiid is re-staking the claim of elite big men in the NBA, hand-in-hand with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic — arguably Embiid’s most formidable competition in the 2021 MVP race. Embiid has been effective against just about every defensive coverage. He’s bullying single-team defense, and exploiting double teams more efficiently than ever.
Here is a look at the early MVP ladder.
Honorable mentions: Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo
NBA MVP ladder #5: Kevin Durant
The strongest argument against Kevin Durant is probably his teammates. He shares the floor with James Harden and Kyrie Irving, two of this generation’s most individually gifted scorers. That will probably work against him in the MVP race.
That said, Durant’s numbers are impossible to refute. He’s averaging 30.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 53.3 percent shooting. He’s drilling 45.5 percent of his 3s, and has been surgical in his dismantling of NBA defenses at every level this season. He is back to his old self.
Brooklyn can’t defend a swinging door right now, but the Nets’ offense alone makes them favorites in the Eastern Conference — if not flat-out championship favorites. Durant will need to keep his historic scoring numbers up next to two elite perimeter scorers, but if anyone is capable of doing so, it’s probably Kevin Durant.
NBA MVP ladder #4: Kawhi Leonard
After flaming out in the playoffs, doubts about Kawhi Leonard‘s future crept into the discourse. He has silenced those doubts for now, playing MVP-caliber basketball for one of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Clippers look even better than last season, and Leonard continues to bludgeon defenses with his unrivaled scoring arsenal.
Leonard is exceedingly strong and exceedingly skilled. He can punish individual matchups in the post, kill slower defenders on the perimeter, or create efficiently for teammates. His growth as a passer since arriving in LA deserves more recognition — it was his primary weakness in Toronto, and he has largely solved it.
Like Durant, Leonard may also have teammates working against his case for MVP. Paul George, who finished third in MVP voting a couple seasons ago, has made a swift return to form following his embarrassing 2020 postseason. Even so, it’s clear Leonard — who is a top-notch defender, on top of his prolific offensive production — deserves consideration in the early MVP race.
So far, the Klaw is averaging 26.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from deep, remarkable efficiency for a player as isolation-centric as Leonard. The Clippers are legit as long as Leonard plays like this.
NBA MVP ladder #3: LeBron James
Age is just a number. LeBron James is 36, the time by which most players start a steep and slippery decent to irrelevance. LeBron, however, is putting together his most compelling MVP case in a minute, all while making LA favorites to repeat as champions.
So far, James is averaging 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He’s suddenly a 40.9 percent 3-point shooter, and Los Angeles — omitting a couple difficult losses of late — have been steadfast next to the Jazz and Clippers atop the West. James’ ability to manipulate defenses with his mind is unmatched. He’s arguably the best playmaker in the game of basketball.
James’ case is bolstered even further by Anthony Davis’ slow start to the season. Whereas many considered Davis the Lakers’ best MVP candidate last season, it has been inarguably James’ show this season. The MVP is often a narrative-based award, and the narrative for James is a strong one — he’s doing historic things at 36, fresh off a championship, and in the NBA’s biggest market.
Some minor shifts in the standings could determine James’ viability over time. If the Lakers finish as the No. 1 seed, voters will have a much easier time voting for him than if the Lakers plateau at No. 3. Regardless, you should not discount James’ chances at this point.
NBA MVP ladder #2: Nikola Jokic
It’s way too early to call this a two-horse race. Durant, Leonard, and James are all compelling names with compelling cases, and other significant candidates — Doncic and Antetokounmpo, most notably — still have time to enter the conversation. That said, if votes were cast tomorrow, it would likely come down to Embiid and Jokic. It’s a coin flip, and the argument for Jokic is a strong one.
The Nuggets’ 7-footer is averaging 26.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists on 57.4 percent shooting. Again, the MVP is a narrative award, and Jokic dropping 47 on the first-place Jazz — led by two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert — is the kind of game voters point to. Not many can orchestrate the offense like Jokic, who can survey the entire court with even a turn of the head.
Denver is only 12-9, but is trending in the right direction and will likely improve on that record moving forward. The Nuggets are the fourth seed, and it’s safe to predict home-court advantage once the postseason arrives. Denver’s appearance in the conference finals last season was no Bubble-induced fluke — Jokic is one of the 10 best players in the world.
Another point in Jokic’s favor — and one that could hurt Embiid as the season progresses — is time missed. Jokic has appeared in all 20 of Denver’s games, and has never been prone to injury. Some of that is play style, as he doesn’t often elevate more than a couple inches. He doesn’t need to. Jokic has too long been underappreciated. He is right on par with Embiid — it’s virtually 1A and 1B, in this writer’s opinion.
NBA MVP ladder #1: Joel Embiid
The Sixers big man is your league MVP through one month. The Sixers are first in the East at 16-7, with Embiid averaging ludicrous numbers. Over his last 10 games, the 7-foot-2 comedian is averaging 31.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Embiid is not only the driving force behind Doc Rivers’ offense, but among the clear frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year — a highly disruptive force in the middle.
Embiid is playing the best basketball of his career. Philadelphia’s swift departure in the 2020 playoffs has fueled Embiid. Also notable in the narrative-building race that is the MVP race, is Embiid’s relatively weak supporting cast. While Tobias Harris is playing like an All-Star and Ben Simmons is still omnipresent defensively, the Sixers are a fish out of water whenever Embiid sits. The Sixers are 1-4 without Embiid, and 16-3 when he plays. When the entire starting five plays, Philadelphia is 12-0.
Games missed could hurt Embiid down the stretch. He has already missed five of the Sixers’ 23 games, and we can safely assume he will miss his share of games later on. If an injury of any significance strikes, that alone could push the needle in favor of Jokic or James.
For now, however, Embiid has been a two-way machine. He is scoring more efficiently than anyone on this list, and doing so while elevating his teammates more than ever. He is also the best defender on this list, with the possible exception of Leonard. Embiid has the Sixers looking like a surprise contender almost solely because of his presence. He should not be discounted.