Sixers' Joel Embiid Trails Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic for 2021-2022 MVP Odds

The start of the 2021-2022 NBA season is still months away, but the MVP talks for next year are already heating up. To no surprise, Sixers starting center Joel Embiid has already entered the conversation as a potential favorite to win the award.

Every season, Embiid enters the new year with a chip on his shoulder. As the big man tends to feel slighted due to his lack of personal awards because his injury setbacks affecting his status to voters, Embiid always looks to be better than he was before.

Last year, he took his play up another notch. After feeling slighted by award voters and hearing constant criticism about how he's never in shape, Embiid took his offseason regimen up another level and got in excellent shape.

While he still battled through a couple of injuries throughout the year, the big man never looked better during the 2020-2021 season. In 51 regular-season games, Embiid shot a career-high 51-percent from the field and 38-percent from three.

As he shot more efficiently than ever, Embiid put up a career-high of 28 points per game last season. In addition to his offensive dominance, the big man was still one of the NBA's best defensive players as he averaged over one block-per-game, and collected nearly 11 rebounds per game.

Had it not been for a knee injury, which kept him off the court for 10-straight games during the regular season after missing a handful of games here and there at the beginning of the year, Embiid probably would've won the MVP award that Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic snagged.

However, Embiid came up short. Since he was viewed as the runner-up, though, Embiid is gaining some solid odds early on in the upcoming MVP race for next season. According to Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation, Bet Online set early odds for the MVP award, which Embiid ranks fifth in.

Ahead of Embiid is Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant, Milwaukee Bucks big Giannis Antetokounmpo, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, and Dallas Mavericks young standout, Luka Doncic. 

Trailing right behind the Sixers' big man is Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. While these odds will certainly change many times throughout the upcoming season, Embiid's early odds seem promising for the Sixers so far this offseason.

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