Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is in the MVP race for the third straight season. After finishing as a runner-up to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic for the previous two seasons, he is the odds-on favorite to win in 2023. He has been one amazing player on both ends of the floor and he has been more than deserving of the award.
With that being said, Jokic is having a helluva season in the Mile High City as well. He’s averaging 24.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.9 assists as the Nuggets are the No. 1 seed in the West. Both Embiid and Jokic are two elite players and they are going to be in a battle to the bitter end for the MVP race.
The biggest edge Embiid has over Jokic is his work on the defensive end. At least in the eye test. When it comes to analytics and the numbers, they support Jokic as the better defender over Embiid.
The star Sixers big man sat down with Shams Charania at The Athletic and threw some shade at the analytics and numbers:
If we want to talk about the last three years since I’ve been in the running for it, the first year it was that I didn’t play enough games. Last year, I came back, I played enough games, I led the league in scoring, and obviously, Nikola deserved it and he won it. But then again, he won as a sixth seed in the West. And then this year, I’m leading the league in scoring, I’m doing all of these things defensively … I should be making an All-Defensive team too. I don’t care, but every year it’s something. And when you add analytics into it, which don’t make sense. You can talk about analytics all you want. When you got some guys in the league, the eye test tells you that they’re not good defensively, but analytics tell you they’re the best defenders. That’s when analytics don’t make sense at all. I don’t make the rules, I don’t choose whatever criteria that they use, so it’s really about whatever people’s preferences are.
The impact Embiid has on the defensive end is obvious. He makes players hesitate before even thinking of going up for a shot and that is something that should be taken into account. He also is averaging 1.7 blocks per game as he is an elite rim protector.
Obviously, both Embiid and Jokic are amazing players. They are both very worthy of all of the accolades they have received. It will be interesting to see what happens when the regular season ends on April 9 to see how the race shakes out.
Related
Sixers star Joel Embiid opens up on how he feels, not being well-liked
Tyrese Maxey discusses his recent success on offense to help Sixers
Sixers’ Joel Embiid not worried about MVP, focused on the playoffs
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire