With the new NBA season upon us, it is once again time to analyze the upcoming awards race. The Sixers hold a rather unique position in the awards conversation, with an MVP frontrunner in Joel Embiid, a perpetually good-not-great star in Tobias Harris, and the increasingly frustrating Ben Simmons, whose exact status with the team remains uncertain as he pushes for a trade.
How many Sixers can truthfully compete for the key NBA awards? That is the question we will strive to answer while also giving broader predictions for the NBA at large. Early season predictions are usually a shot in the dark, but there are frontrunners who deserve that status, as well as underdogs who deserve more recognition.
Without further ado, here is my (predictive) 2022 NBA awards ballot.
NBA award predictions — MVP
- Joel Embiid
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Nikola Jokic
The narrative favors Embiid, which is always important in these conversations. He is the cornerstone — on both ends — of a team traversing the icky waters of a trade request, with new personnel on the margins and the threat of an improved Eastern Conference looming large overhead.
If Embiid can steady the boat in Philadelphia and help the Sixers maintain a top-3 seed in the East, it’s hard not to envision him being frontrunner in the MVP race. Especially if he’s also in the Defensive Player of the Year race, which is always on the table for him.
The Ben Simmons situation is wonky and could derail individual campaigns for some of his teammates, but if there’s ever one constant in Philadelphia, it’s Joel Embiid being absolutely dominant on both sides of the ball. He made “the leap” in 2020-21, and now seems primed for even more growth this season.
Injuries are the big caveat — there’s never a guarantee Embiid plays enough games to win an award so predicated on availability and consistency — but if he can avoid any long absences, Embiid is right at the front of the line.
That said, Jokic and Antetokounmpo both have MVPs on their resumé for a reason, and are reasonable candidates to repeat. Luka Doncic is also right on the horizon, and many have already proclaimed him as preseason favorite. My main concern is, simply, whether the Mavs are good enough. If Doncic can get them home court in the West (with a bad coach at the helm), then yeah, he’s right there.
Do the Sixers have any MVP candidates?
Well, yes. As stated above, Joel Embiid is not only a candidate, but the favorite. To say “the favorite” is perhaps a slight oversell — Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Doncic are all equally strong picks, and other names are bound to join the conversation — but Embiid has a lot of factors in his favor if his performance level matches or exceeds that of last season.