The Philadelphia 76ers got a much welcome development as they head to the most crucial stretch of the season recently with superstar center Joel Embiid finally getting back to the hardwood after missing more than two months due to injury. His return pumps a ton more optimism to the team’s outlook moving into the postseason which appeared to be grim not too long ago.
Team success would be the emphasis at this juncture, but it would be disingenuous not to give even a slight nod to the what-ifs around Embiid’s lengthy absence. Naturally, the 76ers would tout a more sterling win-loss card, but on an individual level, the defending Most Valuable Player could’ve gotten a prime chance to go back-to-back.
However, when asked about his thoughts on the MVP race this season, Embiid was far from regretful, opting to drop a blunt take on the narrative surrounding the coveted plum.
76ers star Joel Embiid gets brutally honest on the MVP race this season
Following Philadelphia’s crucial road win over Miami, Embiid was queried about his position on this year’s contenders to win MVP, and it’s safe to say that he’s not crying over spilled milk.
"Oh, I don’t know, I’m happy I’m not in the [MVP] conversation. That conversation has been toxic for a long time, but I’ll be honest. This year has been kind of boring. There’s not enough toxicity going around. It’s pretty fun, and also at some point it’s pretty bad too, but I’m glad I’m not nowhere near to that. I’m just focused on getting back healthy, you know obviously [they are] all great candidates. They all deserve to win. It’s just unfortunate that only one person has to win."
Joel may have been doubling down on the fact that there’s no use trying to gun for an individual award given his team’s position, but there’s no doubt that he’s calling out the toxicity surrounding the award, which he obviously was at the core of last season.
Embiid winning MVP last season came to the chagrin of a lot of people who felt that it was largely attributable to voter’s fatigue in regards to Nikola Jokic, who won the award in the previous two campaigns. All year long, pundits hurled numerous non-basketball takes to invalidate both candidates.
The 76ers star was poised to defend his MVP trophy this season, unerringly leading the race before injuring his knee. Nevertheless, as he said, the team has a much more pressing missive to end the regular season, and they are focusing on fulfilling that ahead of what could be an interesting playoff fate.