When Joel Embiid sat out Monday's game against the Denver Nuggets due to a calf injury, plenty of NBA fans criticized the Philadelphia 76ers star for avoiding a showdown with Nikola Jokic. In return, his MVP odds also fluctuated, with Jokic retaking the lead again.
Sure enough, the Sixers center was not happy about it, and he let his feelings known after he returned to action on Wednesday and led Philly to the 118-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
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Did Joel Embiid Avoid Nikola Jokic? Sixers Star Says It's 'Stupid'
Joel Embiid didn't hold back when asked about the narrative that he avoided playing Nikola Jokic in Denver in order to preserve his chances to win MVP--which obviously had the opposite effect.
The Sixers center pointed out that people are forgetting what he did when he last faced Jokic and the Nuggets, during which he scored 47 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
Embiid also emphasized that if the MVP odds shift because a player misses a game, then no one deserves to win MVP. At the end of the day, he missed one game but people are acting as if he missed a ton.
"I don't care. Like I said, it's all about the playoffs," Embiid said on the narrative, according to ClutchPoints. "I mean, if one game is gonna hurt anybody's chances, I guess everybody should be out of it - we all have bad games, guys miss matchups. That's not the first time and it's not really a matchup about me and Nikola. He's a great player, amazing player, back-to-back MVP. He's one of the best players in the league and I'm a huge fan. So, not playing against him was a huge bummer."
"But there's a bigger goal in sight and that's to make sure we're healthy for the playoffs. And like I said, I got nothing to prove. The last matchup we won and I had whatever I had [47 points, 18 rebounds]. To go out there and say that I'm scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid."
Embiid certainly makes a great argument. One game shouldn't change the MVP odds drastically. However, what he's forgetting is that narrative plays a role in MVP voting. Considering that he and Jokic are in a tight race, it's definitely bad optics and bad for the narrative he has. Besides, the last time he played against Jokic in Denver was back in 2019.
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