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Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges Picks Sixers’ Joel Embiid as NBA MVP

Brooklyn Nets standout Mikal Bridges believes that Sixers center Joel Embiid should be the NBA MVP this season.

Justin Grasso

Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges Picks Sixers’ Joel Embiid as NBA MVP
Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges Picks Sixers’ Joel Embiid as NBA MVP /
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On Saturday, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers will face Mikal Bridges and the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of the first-round series in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. As the Sixers focus on their playoff run, many are paying attention to the MVP race as well.

For the third-straight season, Sixers center Joel Embiid is in the race to become the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Over the last two seasons, Embiid was named the runner-up, while Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic won the award.

While Jokic is looking to make it a three-peat, Embiid has garnered a lot of MVP love over the last couple of weeks. And the big man’s upcoming competitor Mikal Bridges, is one of the latest players to endorse Embiid as the 2023 NBA MVP.

Bridges joins other NBA standouts such as Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, and more in thinking that Embiid is the clear frontrunner this time around.

In 66 games this season, Embiid averaged a league-high 33 points, ten rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocks per game. He shot the ball at a career-high 55 percent from the field. 

Judging based on ESPN’s latest straw poll and MVP voters who have made their picks public over the last couple of weeks, Embiid seems to be the popular vote as of now. A lot can change over time but it seems Embiid is closer to winning the award than ever. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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