There are three games left in this NBA season for the Philadelphia 76ers before the playoffs begin on April 15. While the MVP race is as close as ever, it seem Joel Embiid slammed the door shut on that debate on Tuesday when he dropped 52 points on 20-for-25 shooting in a 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics.
Embiid is averaging a league-leading 33.3 points and 10.2 rebounds to go along with 4.2 assists while shooting 54.7% from the floor. At the moment, there are two other worthy MVP candidates, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it looks like the award is Embiid’s to lose.
Stephen A. Smith hopped on ESPN’s “First Take” and offered this on Embiid:
I have a vote. Embiid is getting my vote. I think he’s been absolutely spectacular this season. Unlike years past, he’s gonna end up playing as many games as Jokic because Jokic he has missed a few himself. He’s had to carry the Philadelphia 76ers on his back throughout most of the season. (Tyrese) Maxey has been down due to injury. (James) Harden has been up and down when he has played even though I think he’s having a pretty good season, but Embiid to me is absolutely spectacular and also dominant. Inside, outside.
Smith then continued to compare Embiid to the greatest big man in NBA history:
Look at his numbers. We’re talking Shaq. We’re talking Wilt. We’re talking Bill Russell. We’re talking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar We’re talking George Mikan for crying out loud. Throw Bill Walton in the mix. The list goes on and on. I’ll go Bob Lanier, Artis Gilmore and all of these brothers, it don’t matter. Joel Embiid is one of the greatest big men we have ever seen in the history of basketball and when you look at the numbers, he’s putting up he’s averaging 33 a game, OK? His true shooting percentage is like at 65% even though Jokic’s number in that category is better than that, along with his win share, but at the end of the day what it comes down to is that they have identical records, the Eastern Conference is clearly tougher this year than the wild wild west that is the Western Conference because it’s been up and down all year.
Embiid and the Sixers will play host to the Miami Heat on Thursday to continue their final stretch before the playoffs.
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