Sixers MVP ladder: Can Joel Embiid overcome injury?

NBA MVP candidate #4: Joel Embiid

Embiid has played the best basketball of any player in the NBA this season. There are valid contenders to his throne — every name on this list, and even a few who didn’t make the cut — but none have peaked where Embiid peaked. The injury has taken games off his résumé, but the impact on winning keeps the 7-footer firmly in the race.

In 31 games this season, Embiid has averaged 29.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on .525/.422/.859 shooting splits. He is one of, if not the most efficient scorers in basketball. Combine that with a real Defensive Player of the Year case, and it’s impossible to keep even the injury-hampered Embiid out of the top five.

To paraphrase Sixers President Daryl Morey, MVP voters lack consistency. The narrative can veer in many different directions depending on the year. Sometimes it’s based on games won. Sometimes it’s based on counting stats. Sometimes it’s based on true impact. If the voters want to reward the best overall player on one of the best overall teams, then how can Embiid not get credit?

Some voters, however, live by the old adage of “the best ability is availability.” Embiid has not been as available to his team as other players on this list, to no fault of his own. It’s unfortunate, but Embiid’s clearest MVP case yet — and feasibly ever — could be derailed by a freak bone bruise. We all remember how his Rookie of the Year campaign turned out.