ESPN’s Tim Legler explains why Sixers’ Joel Embiid should win MVP

ESPN’s Tim Legler explains why Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid should win the 2023 MVP award.

With only a handful of games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, the debate of who is the MVP continues to rage. It will once again come down to two star big men: Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

Both have a compelling case. Embiid has been on one of the more impressive scoring rampages anyone will see for a guy his size. He has scored 30-plus points in 10 straight games, and he is leading the league in scoring at 33.6 points per game. Jokic is averaging a triple-double for the Nuggets who are No. 1 in the Western Conference.

However, a big difference is on the defensive end. Embiid continues to dominate on that end. ESPN’s Tim Legler broke down on “The Old Man and the Three” why that should be the deciding factor in the MVP debate:

For me, it’s Embiid. Something happened the other night I was watching the Cleveland game. He made a play in that game defensively that really just was kind of like just a wow moment for me like my goodness, like he’s the only guy in the league that could have made that play. It was a play where Cedi Osman drove down the left slot, came hard at the rim, Embiid went all in on the block. I mean, jumped as high as he could, had his fingertips like by the top of the square with his full chest facing Osman on the left side of the rim. Osman goes up and then wraps the ball around his back to (Evan) Mobley who’s standing right under the rim. A seven-footer, quick off his feet athletic ability, Embiid hit the ground from the first jump without really finding Mobley just turned and jumped spinning his body: 180 degrees, jumped, and caught the ball at the front of the rim as Mobley was trying to dunk it and it triggered a fast-break layup for James Harden going the other way.

Legler continued to build the case for Embiid. The defensive performance he continues to put in should give him an edge:

I look at the comparison because I think it’s between Embiid and Jokic. They’d be my two favorites, and obviously Embiid is the better raw scorer. I mean, he’s just a dominant scorer. Jokic is clearly better offense generator, facilitates everything and gets his number every night. Rebounding both dominant. So how about that end of the floor man and the impact that Embiid has? And I think for me, if we’re talking about those two guys, and I think they are the two leaders that is a differentiating factor for me. They basically have the same number of wins. Denver has won in the West, but the way Philly’s played for last two and a half, three months. I think they’ve had the best record in the league. I believe over that time. The impact that he has on that into the floor as the last line of defense and an altered of what teams can do? That I think for me this year, is the differentiating factor because of these ridiculous numbers he’s putting up to go with it.

Embiid and Jokic will have one more clash on March 27 in Denver in a matchup that could decide the debate.

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