Embiid Reportedly Comes Second to Jokic in NBA MVP Race Once Again

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is expected to be formally announced as the NBA's Most Valuable Player at some point this week, according to ESPN's NBA

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is expected to be formally announced as the NBA's Most Valuable Player at some point this week, according to ESPN's NBA Insider. Adrian Wojnarowski.

With Jokic set to win the award, that marks the second-straight season the Nuggets' big man will hoist the hardware. It also marks the second time that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will be a finalist for the trophy but coming up short to Jokic.

Last season, the overwhelming argument in favor of Jokic over Embiid always surrounded the Sixers' big man's lack of availability throughout the regular season.

As Embiid battled numerous injury setbacks throughout the 2020-2021 regular season, Jokic not only played at a high level for Denver, but he did it while remaining totally healthy and available for his team.

Going into the 2021-2022 season, Embiid prioritized his health and did all he could to ensure that he played at a high level and stayed healthy.

Early on in the year, Embiid's plan was taken off track a bit as a battle with COVID-19 kept him off the floor for nine-straight games back in November. Twenty games into the season, Embiid had already missed ten matchups.

However, from that point on, Embiid remained healthy for the most part. Over the next 62 games, the Sixers' big man played in all but four matchups. In the 59 games he appeared in, Embiid scored 32 points per game during that time. By the end of the regular season, he was crowned the NBA's scoring champion.

Regardless of Embiid's ability to stay healthy this year while maintaining his dominance, Jokic still won over the voters as he continued to dominate the league as well. In 74 games, Jokic put up 27 points while knocking down 58-percent of his shots. In addition to his scoring, Jokic averaged 13 rebounds and 7.9 assists. For the second-straight season, the Nuggets' big man is expected to be crowned MVP with Embiid left out as a finalist.

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