Tyrese Maxey Feels for Joel Embiid After MVP Snub
Despite leading the NBA in scoring and dominating on both sides of the ball consistently during the 2021-2022 NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is expected to come up short in the race for NBA MVP.
Just last season, Embiid established himself as a true MVP candidate for the first time in his career. At the end of the 2020-2021 run, Embiid was a finalist alongside Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic and Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry.
As expected, Embiid came up short when the winner was revealed. Since he played in just 51 of 72 games, Embiid's lack of availability was by far his biggest knock.
This season, Embiid leveled up his game and his health. As he appeared on the court for a career-high of 68 games, Embiid put up a league-leading 30 points per game while averaging 11 rebounds and four assists.
The big man's campaign was successful enough to get him another nod as a finalist. However, Nikola Jokic is expected to be announced the back-to-back winner sometime later this week, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Before the Sixers' shootaround session ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday morning, Philly head coach Doc Rivers discussed his disappointment as he believed Embiid would've and should've won MVP.
Shortly after, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey dished in his two cents on the news.
“I feel for him because he worked extremely hard this year," said Maxey. "He was available as much as possible, which is a lot. We all had COVID, but he went through the COVID situation, a little injury, and he played a lot of games. I think the most games in his career, and I feel for him, but in my heart, he’s our MVP, and I think a lot of guys in the NBA have said the same thing. Hats off to Joker because he’s been great as well.”
Embiid's teammates have pined for him to become the next NBA MVP all season long. As Maxey noted, so did other NBA stars. If the situation was different and players had a vote, then Embiid might've had a better chance of winning.
Unfortunately for him, that's not the case. While the Sixers are left disappointed with the final results, all they can do at this point is use the snub as fuel in the second-round series against the Miami Heat.
More Sixers News:
Joel Embiid Comes Up Short: According to a report, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second season in a row. Once again, Sixers center Joel Embiid is expected to be considered the runner-up for the award. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
James Harden Lifts Sixers Past Heat: The Sixers took on the Miami Heat for the Game 4 matchup of their second-round series on Sunday night. With a big scoring night from James Harden, the Sixers managed to even the series score at two before going back to Miami. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
