Following Joel Embiid’s injury, Skip Bayless says LeBron James has received yet another break when it comes to winning the MVP.
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The 2021 MVP race has been quite an interesting one so far. With LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic battling it out for the number one spot on the MVP leaderboard, there was little to no telling for the first 25 games of the season on who could snag the coveted award.
Joel Embiid seemed to be a near clear cut favorite to receive MVP honors in the first half of the season. Averaging 30 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, all while having Philadelphia hold a vice-grip on the number one seed out East, Jojo has been doing it all for the Sixers.
However, in his first game back from the All-Star Break, Philly’s terrible injury luck of the past years has come back to potentially haunt them once again. Midway through the 3rd quarter in a bout against the Wizards, Embiid landed awkwardly on his left leg. We are yet to receive a confirmed injury report as the Cameroonian awaits an MRI.
Joel Embiid went down after suffering an apparent leg injury.
He went back to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/Qd8IqC5Ric
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 13, 2021
Skip Bayless puts the Joel Embiid injury in perspective, says LeBron James has a better shot at MVP
Skip Bayless took to Twitter to use the Joel Embiid injury as a means to downplay a potential LeBron James 2021 MVP season:
“Another big break for LeBron James. Now, despite an awful month leading into the All-Star break, LeBron has an opportunity to reinstate his MVP case.”
Another big break for LeBron: MVP leader Embiid hyperextends his knee in the midst of yet another dominating performance. MRI next. Now, despite an awful month leading to the All-Star break, LeBron has an opportunity to restate his MVP case, starting in a few minutes.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 13, 2021
Though this may be an insensitive tweet to put out, Skip does have a point. Coming out of the All-Star break, Embiid was the clear-cut favorite to win the MVP, as long as he produced at the same level he has been for the first half of the season.
LeBron James, who has been fluctuating between the first and second spots in the MVP leaderboard, now has a clear runway to potentially overtake Embiid in the MVP race. Granted, James and the Lakers need to string together wins on a consistent basis until D returns.
If Embiid were to miss out on merely a couple of weeks of action, due to the dense nature of the schedule in the second half, he may not even be eligible to be a candidate for MVP when it’s all said and done.