Joel Embiid played his second game back with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, scoring 29 points in a win over the Miami Heat.
After the game, Embiid spoke with The Athletic about his return and the race for MVP.
Because of the number of absences he has had, Embiid is no longer in the running for Most Valuable Player but he said he’s happy he’s ineligible.
“The conversation has been toxic for a long time,” Embiid said about the MVP competition.
He did admit that there is a lot of great talent in the running for this year’s trophy, but Embiid is happy he’s not one of them.
He is instead just focused on staying healthy and helping his team as much as possible.
Joel Embiid says he’s happy not to be in the MVP discussions this year.
“That conversation has been toxic for a long time.”
🎥 @NBCSPhillypic.twitter.com/362rbYqFOs
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) April 5, 2024
For most of the season, Embiid was the clear frontrunner for MVP.
It seemed like he was on his way to winning back-to-back trophies with his average of 34.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.
But the NBA’s new rule saying that players need to participate in 65 games to be eligible for end-of-season awards eliminated his chances of that.
With Embiid out of contention, it now seems like Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is on the way to his third MVP trophy.
Embiid said that the talk around MVP has become toxic this year and there is no doubt that it’s become heated at times.
Just earlier this week, anonymous NBA executives were quoted as saying that Jokic winning again won’t “age well.”
Additionally, some analysts on television have started to question this year’s race and cast it in a negative light.
Embiid isn’t paying attention to that anymore and is instead helping his team stay in playoff contention.
The 76ers have now won two games in a row with Embiid and next play the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
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