National Basketball Association

Joel Embiid sounds off on MVP race — does he deserve to win it?

Published Apr. 4, 2022 2:49 p.m. ET

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"I don't know what I have to do."

Joel Embiid wants the NBA's MVP award.

And up to this point in the season, the 76ers' big man has done just about everything he can to solidify his résumé for honorific recognition come season's end.

Joel Embiid says he deserves to be MVP

Joel Embiid recently said about the MVP award: "If it happens, great. If it doesn't, I don't know what I have to do. I'll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else." Skip Bayless explains why he is not fond of Embiid's comments.

He's been on an absolute tear since the season's inception: Highlighting his nightly tour de force with 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He's also averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest.

And for a good portion of the 2021-22 campaign, the Maurice Podoloff trophy was all but his. Embiid's pinnacle was something to behold: He burst onto the stat sheet with consecutive showings of 50, 40, 38 and 42 points. Those spectacles included a 73.9 FG% (17-of-23) and 15-of-17 clip from the free-throw line during the 50-ball, plus an 18-of-20 mark from the charity stripe in the final installment of his fiery foursome.

But Embiid's cooled off since then, and while he consistently plays a central role in his squad's winning strategy, several of his MVP competitors have closed in on the once-broad margin.

The recent play of Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo has undoubtedly attracted the eyes of some voters, as both — one with all-around efficiency, and the other with pure statistical supremacy — have strengthened their own cases.

Nonetheless, Embiid believes it's his to lose.

"I'll feel like they hate me [if I lose]," Embiid said following the Sixers' 112-108 victory over the Cavaliers Sunday. "I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else."

Chris Broussard didn't concur with Embiid's comments Monday on "First Things First", but did declare that there was more Embiid could do to bolster his standing.

"Less than two weeks ago, he was firmly atop my ballot," Broussard revealed.

"[Voters] nitpick. When Embiid met up with Giannis with seeding implications on the line, Giannis outplayed him. And at the end of the game, he had a chance to tie the game with a dunk, and went up meekly with a rushed layup that Giannis blocked. Your competition made the game-winning play, and you failed to do so. Big man, dunk the ball! Nobody was going to stop that."

Broussard pointed to another MVP-caliber matchup weeks earlier in which Embiid fell short.

"Go back a couple of weeks ago. Nikola Jokic comes into town. Jokic is guarding Embiid at the end of the game with Philly down three. Instead of taking the shot, he instead passes to Georges Niang, who was 2-for-10 that game, in the left corner, and he bricked it. When it's this close, it comes down to big plays, and Embiid didn't make them."

Embiid doesn't know what more he has to do to win MVP

Chris Broussard, who has an MVP vote, describes what he'll need to see from Joel Embiid to consider him over other contenders like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.

Nick Wright disagreed with Broussard's "big-play" take.

"I don't mind Embiid being frustrated," Wright said. "I'd be frustrated, too."

For Wright, the MVP race is a numbers-based game, and that contest will inevitably leave Embiid on the outside looking in.

"It's not about big plays or winning, it's about [numbers]. Broussard has said something to me a couple of times off the air that I didn't know about, that back in the early 90s, IBM used to give out their MVP, and David Robinson won it every year. And the reason was that whatever formula they had really overvalued rebounding and efficiency. That exact same thing is happening right now with the smart people numbers for Nikola Jokic.

"Jokic leads the NBA in five advanced stat categories: Win shares, offensive and defensive box plus-minus, player efficiency rating, and value over replacement. Here's the fly in the ointment. Mitchell Robinson is better in win shares than LeBron James, Steph Curry and Luka Doncic.

"The computers tell me Kevin Love has a better offensive box score plus-minus than Devin Booker, DeMar DeRozan, Chris Paul. On the other side of the ball, [Chuma] Okeke is better than Deandre Ayton, Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant. Fred VanVleet's VORP (Value over Replacement Player) is better than Donovan Mitchell, Booker and DeRozan. And PER — would you rather have Montrezl Harrell, or Tatum, Curry and Booker? That is Jokic's entire case: The computers tell me I'm an idiot if I don't vote for him."

Embiid currently ranks third in PER (31.2), fourth in free-throw rate (.606), second in usage rate (37.1), and third in both win shares (11.5) and VORP (6.3). But Jokic is the far-and-away front-runner in most major analytical categories.

What the voters prioritize — either winning or numbers — will be decided soon enough.

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Nikola Jokic

Denver Nuggets

National Basketball Association

Joel Embiid

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Philadelphia 76ers

Chris Broussard

Nick Wright

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