Joel Embiid has been in red-hot form this season, averaging an incredible 35.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists from a 65.1% shooting percentage. The previous season’s MVP is living up to his title’s name; however, he doesn’t seem to be getting the mainstream attention he deserves from the league. Former Los Angeles Clippers guard JJ Redick feels that this situation is similar to the community undermining Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic before they won their first championships.
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In Episode 197 of The Old Man and The Three podcast, Redick and Tim Legler discussed the potential of Joel Embiid to elevate to a similar level of greatness as Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Astonished by the improvement in Embiid’s performance, JJ Redick was convinced that the Philadelphia 76ers center was just getting better each year.
“He is dominating, and this stretch that he’s been on, where he’s scoring 36 plus, 38, 40, and sitting out the fourth quarter…granted that some of these games were against the Pistons and the Wizards, you can’t deny the greatness,” expressed Redick, noting the incredible stats that the Cameroonian star has been garnering through this season.
Noting this new spurt in Embiid’s form, Redick believes that this might somewhat be reminiscent of what we have seen in the rise of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
“I feel like some of the conversation were falling into the same trap that we had around Giannis[Antetokounmpo] in ’19 and ’20 and Jokic in ’22 and ’23, which is like ignoring the greatness and just saying, ‘Until he wins, I don’t want to hear it.'”
Concurring with JJ Redick’s thoughts, Tim Legler added, “I personally thought I know how great he [Joel Embiid] is, but I thought I’d seen the best he can be.” Joel Embiid is currently playing his ninth season in the NBA and has reached his peak level of performance at this stage.
Legler also agreed with Redick that winning a championship never attributed to a player’s greatness. If we were to assess a player’s capabilities based on championships won, nobody would regard Charles Barkley as one of the best of his era.
Joel Embiid is the frontrunner for winning a second MVP title this season
JJ Redick and Tim Legler’s comparison might hold value, given Joel Embiid is once again the frontrunner for the MVP title this season. Interestingly, Embiid’s current averages of 35 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 6.0 APG highly exceed his averages of 33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 4.2 APG in his MVP-winning 2022-23 season.
If Embiid were to win a second MVP title this season, he would rightly find himself in similar books as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. The Center reminds fans of a young Shaquille O’Neal, who established his dominance in the league before winning his first NBA championship.
The Sixers occupy the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and are 4th in the league with their 21-9 record. Given that the Sixers seem secured for a top-seeded playoff berth for the post-season, the conversation around Embiid and the Sixers winning the title this season does not seem too far from reality.
