Before the start of the season, Joel Embiid said he thought he could win MVP. Embiid is showing why he said that with his play at the beginning of this long season. If Embiid wins MVP he would be the first Philadelphia 76ers player to win the award since Allen Iverson. Iverson did it in 2001. Out of nine games, Embiid has gone for 30 points or more in six of those contests. That is including his season-high 41 points against the Los Angeles Clippers. He is looking to be a real force during the course of this season.
Joel Embiid Making An Early Case For Most Valuable Player
The Stats So Far
In the early portion of this season, Embiid is averaging 28.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Embiid is currently fourth in points per game. Of the players averaging a double-double with points and rebounds, he is averaging the most points. That is more than MVP candidates Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Davis is averaging 25.2 points and 13.0 rebounds. Antetokounmpo is averaging 26.1 points and 13.7 rebounds. That stat just shows how Embiid is flexing his muscles against teams in the NBA.
Embiid’s flexibility on the court is displayed in his stats. He is able to score anywhere on the court at a high rate while rebounding at an equally high rate. On the defensive end, Embiid has displayed his dominance at that end of the court too. He is averaging 2.3 blocks per game, which is good for seventh in the league.
He is also shooting the best he has ever shot from the free throw line. His first year in the league he was shooting 78.3 percent from the line. His second year he was shooting 76.9 percent. This year he is shooting 81.6 percent from the line. For a center that is good and he can be relied on down the stretch in games.
What Is Holding Him Back
The team’s success is a factor that can go into MVP voting. If the Sixers are bad and his stats are good then he may get overlooked. If the Sixers are good and he is a big factor for that reason and the stats are where they are now, voters will have to give a look at him.
The Sixers are 5-4 right now and they have not looked good against teams that are expected to be elite in the Eastern Conference like the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. Against the Celtics, in the first game of the season, the Sixers lost 105-87. They lost to the Raptors 129-112.
If Embiid is going to win the MVP award, the Sixers will have to beat elite teams in the league. In the game against the Celtics, Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds. In the game against the Raptors, Embiid had 31 points and 11 rebounds. While his offense is needed he will have to be more dominant on the defensive end.
What those teams are doing to Embiid is stretch him out to the three-point line where he is not comfortable. Al Horford for the Celtics and Serge Ibaka for the Raptors did a good job of negating Embiid on defense by stretching the floor.
Embiid will have to come all the way out and guard those centers for the Sixers to go to the next level.
Conclusion
Embiid has what it takes to win the MVP this year and the stats show that. For him to go to the next level, it will take him and the Sixers to be able to show that they are contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Main Photo
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (left) and Boston Celtics’ Aron Bynes in action during the NBA London Game 2018 at the O2 Arena, London. (Photo by Simon Cooper/PA Images via Getty Images)
