FS1 Host Claims Ben Simmons Drama Should Help Joel Embiid's MVP Case

With the 2021-2022 NBA season winding down, award voters are beginning to think about who they will vote for at the end of the year. As always, there are a lot

With the 2021-2022 NBA season winding down, award voters are beginning to think about who they will vote for at the end of the year. As always, there are a lot of debates surrounding the Most Valuable Player award as there is a tight race for the top.

Last season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was in the conversation. At the All-Star break, he was arguably the favorite to take home the MVP award, but an unfortunate post-All-Star break injury put him out for ten games.

At that point, Embiid's availability hurt his chances as Denver Nuggets big man continued dominating on a nightly basis without dealing with any setbacks.

When the voting was finalized last year, Embiid was considered to be the runner-up. Jokic took home the hardware as the voting was in his favor.

This year, Jokic and Embiid seem to be in another two-man race for the award. Since Embiid has been healthier than ever this season, a lack of availability won't factor into the voting this time around.

While Jokic's star teammates' lack of availability throughout the year could help the big man's case as he's dominated and has the Nuggets in the fifth seed, FS1's Chris Broussard claims that Embiid has a similar case that should sway voters in his direction.

Does the Simmons Saga Help Embiid?

Joel Embiid isn’t getting enough credit for keeping the Sixers together (mentally & emotionally) through the Ben Simmons drama! https://t.co/pAhWLOAQia

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) March 31, 2022

"Because of the unique situation that Ben Simmons put them in, and it was a negative situation that could have impacted the play on the court. A lot of the Sixers are young and impressionable. They could have easily gotten down, gotten into a 'woe is we' mentality when their second-best player spurns them. He's actually in the facility and won't talk with them, and won't interact with them, isn't returning their calls all summer

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...

"They could've easily went into a mental and emotional funk, and [Joel Embiid] made sure they didn't do that. So, I do think that's a factor because it affected the play on the court. If it didn't affect the play on the court, and it's just something you gotta deal with away from the game -- no issue, no big deal -- but it could have affected things on the court. That's why I weigh it into my decision."

The Sixers had a three-time All-Star in Ben Simmons on the roster for the first half of the year and couldn't get him to play. Embiid steered the ship as the lone All-Star on the team, and the Sixers never lost control before they made the blockbuster trade to swap Simmons for James Harden.

Embiid's MVP-caliber play throughout the season kept the Sixers in the playoff picture. While Jokic is in a similar situation since Denver has missed multiple stars throughout the year due to injury, the Sixers' situation was slightly more challenging, considering the Simmons saga created tons of unwanted drama around Embiid and the team.

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