76ers' Joel Embiid Gives His Reasons to Why He Thinks He's MVP

One topic that continues to cause debate this NBA season is the MVP award. Joel Embiid's name has been a name tied to the award all year, but missed games have hurt his case. 

After Wednesday's win over the Brooklyn Nets, Embiid would join ESPN's Zach Lowe on an episode of 'The Lowe Post' podcast. During the episode, Lowe would ask the All-Star center to give his case as to why he is still deserving of the award. 

Embiid has said in the past he still feels he is in the running for the award, and he would give his thoughts as to why. 

"First seed in the East, the numbers speak for themselves. We're not just talking about the offensive side of the game. We're talking about the defensive side of the game. If you actually go through all the numbers, some could say I could be deserving of Defensive Player of the Year. When you add both of them as far as the offensive side of the game and the defensive part of it and mix it in with the number one seed, I don't know what more you could ask," said Embiid. 

Having to miss time because of injury and health and safety protocol is the main factor that is keeping Embiid from being a front-runner for the award. Injuries have been a league-wide issue this season due to a grueling schedule. This is why Embiid would say this year alone it shouldn't affect the MVP race.  

"I feel like it's just a different year. Everybody is missing games here and there. That's just the nature of the game," he said. 

There is a case to be made about missed games having less impact this season compared to previous years. The MVP should not be handed to a player strictly because they stayed healthy in a year where the league saw close to record numbers in terms of injuries. 

Embiid put up a strong case as to why he feels he's still deserving of the award. We will have to wait and see if voters will share the same ideals.

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.