Will Joel Embiid Finally Win His First MVP?
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It’s March and it’s time to start thinking about the 2022-2023 MVP Race.
Joel Embiid has had yet again another stellar season.
With less than 20 games remaining in the season, Embiid sits at Number 2 in the KIA NBA MVP Ladder according to NBA.com, only sitting behind Nikola Jokic. If this were to be the case at the end of the season, then this will be the 3rd year in a row where Jokic would win MVP, and Embiid would finish 2nd.
Will Joel Embiid win the award for the first time, or will he once again fall just short?
This year’s MVP race is unique, as 5 players have a legitimate argument for the award. Nikola Jokic is coming off back-to-back MVPs and currently sits at the top of NBA.com’s ladder. Jokic has been number 1 for most of the season, and many NBA Experts predict that he will win his 3rd consecutive MVP. Giannis Antetokounmpo currently sits in 3rd place on the MVP ladder and is having another impressive season. He has led the Bucks to be the 1 seed in the East for most of the season. Jayson Tatum sits at 4th on the ladder. He has helped lead the Celtics to the 2nd seed in the East and is having a historic season. As of right now, he is on track to set their single-season scoring record. Sitting at 5th in the MVP Ladder is Luka Doncic. Luka has become a dominant force in the NBA, even at the young age of 24. While the Mavs haven’t had plenty of success with him this year, he has still shown as he is having a great statistical season, even with the new addition of Kyrie Irving.
But what about Embiid? Joel Embiid sits 2nd in the Ladder, but can he ascend to 1st? Currently, he is 1st in the league with PPG as he is averaging 33.3 points per game. Embiid has led Philadelphia to the 3rd seed in the East. This is the 3rd year in a row that he has been in serious conversations to be the MVP.
The MVP was awarded to Nikola Jokic in both the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. However, Embiid was right on Jokic’s tail, as he fell to 2nd in MVP voting in both years.
Will this be the year where things change, or will once again, Embiid fall just short of the award he has deserved?
