The 76ers have been rolling off late. The franchise has won a whopping 7 of its last 10 games. And during a period where other players such as Nikola Jokic, and Jayson Tatum are enjoying the limelight, Joel Embiid has quietly been going above and beyond.
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Through this man’s efforts, Philadelphia now stands proud as the 4th seed, ahead of the Cavaliers, and just behind the Bucks.
This is great. But, is it enough to get Joel Embiid MVP this season?
Skip Bayless recently took to Twitter to give his highly controversial thoughts on the matter.
Skip Bayless believes the Regular season MVP award has already been decided
So far, the NBA MVP ladder has been a deeply competitive one. After all, this season has been filled with multiple players going above and beyond where they’ve been before.
.@ShannonSharpe’s NBA MVP Ladder:
1. Jokic
2. Giannis
3. Luka
4. Tatum
5. Embiid pic.twitter.com/yCw38GDpGY— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) January 4, 2023
Among these players, there are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, a pair that has been in all the talks for MVP.
However, if it were up to Skip Bayless, apparently things would be very, very different.
Take a look at the man’s recent tweet below.
So far Joel Embiid is the NBA MVP.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 12, 2023
Perhaps in a vacuum, Joel Embiid for MVP doesn’t seem like that big of a stretch. After all the man has been averaging 33.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game. He has also been shooting 53.4% from the field, 34.1% from deep, and 85.8% from the free throw line.
However, does the man have enough to beat out all competitors for the award?
What about Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Frankly, these 2 players have very similar averages to Joel Embiid. However, that alone could derail the 76er star’s MVP campaign.
You see, the Denver Nuggets sit 2nd in the West, and are competing for the top seed. The Bucks sit third in the East (one higher than Philadelphia) and have a chance to be the top seed too.
Franchise seeding matters when it comes to the NBA MVP race. And if Embiid can’t better his competitors there, the only thing he can hope for is a serious case of voter fatigue.