SUMMARY
- Joel Embiid is glad to be left out of the MVP conversation this season.
- Embiid believes that the hype surrounding the award is toxic.
Joel Embiid recently generated quite a lot of attention by sharing his thoughts on the current state of the MVP award. As the majority of NBA fans should still remember, Embiid won the MVP award last season by putting up incredible numbers and establishing himself as one of the best players in the league.
This season has been a different story considering that Embiid sustained a knee injury and missed the majority of this season and had to undergo surgery. In the time he missed, Embiid fell out of the MVP conversation and has no chance of winning it this time. While one might assume that the 76ers star would be somewhat disappointed, Embiid made his stance on the subject quite clear.
Joel Embiid addresses the negative impact of the MVP conversation
With the exception of winning an NBA championship, which is a team victory, the MVP award is the most prestigious individual award that a star could win for his performance and impact on his team. The conversation that leads up to deciding who wins the award goes on all season long. The media constantly draw up polls on the frontrunners and rankings.
Joel Embiid knows all of this too well considering that he was in the midst of it last season. He surprised fans by revealing that he was glad to not be included in it this season and inadvertently mocked the whole process.
“Oh, I don’t know I’m happy I’m not in the conversation. That conversation has been toxic for a long time but I’ll be honest this year has been kinda boring. This year there’s not enough toxicity going around. It’s pretty fun and also at some point it’s pretty bad too. But I’m glad I’m not nowhere near to that. I’m just focused on getting back healthy…”
The reigning MVP with some interesting comments on the current MVP race 👀 pic.twitter.com/TF17491NmX
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 5, 2024
Joel continued, “Obviously, all great candidates and they all deserve to win. It’s just unfortunate that only one person has to win.”
As the 76ers star pointed out, the MVP conversation can be viewed as toxic. He also opined that it has been less toxic this season in comparison to the past years.
Was Embiid on the verge of winning the MVP award once again prior to his injury?
If Embiid had not sustained a meniscus tear and underwent knee surgery, there is no denying that he would be in the race for the MVP award once again this season. After all, Joel was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. Those statistics surpassed most other stars in the league as Embiid could have potentially won once again if not for his injury.