ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Defends Joel Embiid After Latest Snub

Another NBA season passes by with many feeling like Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was snubbed on numerous occasions. Last season, Embiid was in the MVP

Another NBA season passes by with many feeling like Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was snubbed on numerous occasions.

Last season, Embiid was in the MVP race for the majority of the year. By the time the 2021 All-Star break rolled around, he was the clear-cut favorite. However, a post-All-Star break injury forced Embiid to miss a handful of games, which caused voters to question his status as the league’s best due to the number of games he missed.

Ultimately, Embiid lost out on MVP last year. Despite being a finalist, Embiid came second to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the voting. And when the NBA released the All-NBA teams, Embiid didn’t qualify for the first team. Instead, he was on the second team.

Fast forward to 2022 and the situation is exactly the same. Although Embiid leveled up this year by becoming the NBA’s scoring champion and remaining healthier than ever, the voters didn’t favor him more than Jokic once again. Therefore, Embiid was the MVP runner-up for the second season in a row.

Although Embiid could’ve made first team All-NBA as a forward, the big man came up short to Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Like many, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith believes that Embiid was snubbed for the second-straight year.

Stephen A. Goes Off

“Did Joel Embiid get snubbed as a first-team All-NBA? Yes, he did,” said Smith. “I believe what he had to endure this year with the nonsense that Ben Simmons created with all of that stuff going on in Philadelphia and then ultimately a James Harden coming into the squad at the expense of Simmons and Seth Curry and Andre Drummond and two first-round picks and all the stuff that he had to go through still playing the way that he played, still having the Philadelphia 76ers be the threat that they were.”

Without Embiid, the Sixers’ status as a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference would’ve seriously been in question throughout the 2021-2022 season. By keeping the Sixers relevant in the playoff picture without having another All-Star beside him for more than half the year, Embiid established himself as one of the most dominant players in the league.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the MVP trophy or a first team nod to show for it. Therefore, like many analysts and fans of the game, Stephen A. Smith claims Embiid was snubbed once again.

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

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