When people discuss who the best player in the NBA is right now, most will start the conversation with Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who is the reigning NBA Finals MVP and could end up winning his third regular-season MVP.
Right behind him are men such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, another two-time regular-season MVP and one-time Finals MVP, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid.
Embiid is the reigning regular-season MVP, and his numbers this season have been even better than the ones he put up last season.
Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George said that not only is Embiid unstoppable, but that he is this generation’s version of Shaquille O’Neal, via ClutchPoints.
“You can’t stop [Joel Embiid]. He’s too big, he’s agile. He can shoot, he can step out from the three-point line… He’s our generation and our version of Shaq.”
Paul George on how unstoppable Embiid is 🗣️
(via @PodcastPShow)pic.twitter.com/UUhQgefLKb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 10, 2024
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, O’Neal was in his prime, and he was considered perhaps the most dominant NBA player ever because of his combination of strength, power, explosiveness, speed, and quickness.
Embiid isn’t quite the physical specimen O’Neal was, but he’s putting up the type of numbers O’Neal did some 20 years ago.
The Cameroon native is putting up 34.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 blocked shots a game, and he has led the Sixers to a 23-12 record, which puts them in third place in the Eastern Conference.
He is imposing his physicality on opponents more than he did a few years ago, and his combination of size, strength, and skill make him a confounding player to deal with.
If Philly makes a move before the trade deadline to boost their bench, perhaps they can challenge the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for Eastern Conference supremacy this spring.
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