The Philadelphia 76ers‘ regular season is over and the votes for MVP are in. Despite the votes being locked in, it will be some time before the winner of the award will be announced. With that in mind, it feels like to right time to review the case for Joel Embiid to win the award.
Joel Embiid is the most dominant big man since Shaquille O’Neal which is high praise. For the past two seasons, Embiid has been right in the mix for the MVP award and this year in particular the big man has a strong case.
Sixers’ star big man Joe Embiid’s final case for the MVP award.
This season, he’s averaged 30.6 points per game (first in NBA), 11.7 rebounds (sixth in NBA), 4.2 assists (career-high), 1.1 steals (career-high), and 1.5 blocks (12th in NBA), while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from the 3-point line. He also played a career-high 68 games and averaged a career-high 33.8 minutes per game. The numbers are impressive on the surface but diving deeper will make them even more impressive.
Embiid is the first center since O’Neal to lead the league in scoring, according to Statmuse. Embiid’s also the first international player to league the league in scoring and the first center to average over 30 points in under 40 minutes per game, per Statmuse. He’s also the first center to average over 30 points per game since Sixers’ Moses Malone, per CBSSports.
The most compelling case for Embiid’s MVP chances is this stat below.
40/10 games in a season since merger:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 9, 2022
13 — Joel Embiid (this season)
12 — Russell Westbrook (2017)
12 — Moses Malone (1982)
The last 2 names won MVP that year. pic.twitter.com/NkFlxLbewL
He surpassed both Malone and Russell Westbrook in those types of games when both players won MVP in those respective seasons. Using that logic alone, his case for the MVP should be in tip-top shape. It should also be noted that Embiid is the only player to record a 40-point and 20-rebound game this season, per Fox Sports.
Then there’s the narrative portion to review as well. Embiid carried this club through the Ben Simmons drama and even after James Harden joined the club, the former MVP isn’t playing up to his level so Embiid was still carrying the team. In games Embiid didn’t play in, the Sixers had just a 6-8 record.
The case for Embiid to win the MVP is obvious. Hopefully, the voters made the right decision and chose the Sixers’ center.