There are so many players who have dominated the NBA this season, and are carrying their basketball teams. One of those players is 76ers’ big man Joel Embiid. He’s averaging 30.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and scored a career-high 50 against the Chicago Bulls. He is by far and away the leading MVP candidate in the NBA.
He is carrying his team on a nightly basis and quite frankly, you have to wonder where the Sixers would be without Embiid. Now teammates Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris deserve credit for the way they are playing for sure, but if it was just them without Embiid, how good would this team really be?
You also have to consider the era of basketball we’re playing in. Teams in the NBA are being led by guards and shooting a bunch of 3s every game, so to see a big man dominate the way Embiid has is quite impressive.
With that said, there’s an argument for Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic. His partner in crime Jamal Murray, however, just had his own 50-point game, not to mention he was on fire during last year’s playoffs, so who’s really Denver’s best player? In Philadelphia, there’s no question who the best player is on the team.
Joel Embiid: Sixers’ undisputed No. 1 option
Basically all the other players who have been in the MVP conversation have teammates who can just as easily be the number one guy on their team. As mentioned previously, everyone knows who the number one guy on the Sixers is.
And speaking of being the guy in Philly, do you remember a guy by the name of Allen Iverson? Well if for some reason you don’t, he was the last Sixer to lead the team to the NBA Finals. Not to mention the last Sixer to score 50 in a game. So if we’re comparing Embiid’s greatness to Iverson, shouldn’t he be getting strong consideration for MVP?
All the other candidates are deserving of consideration. But if Embiid continues this level of play and doesn’t get MVP, it would be travesty on the part of the NBA.