Kevin Durant Chooses Joel Embiid in 'Unfair' MVP Competition

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid could be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player sometime soon. Or, perhaps he might lose out on the award for the second consecutive season as another candidate is working on going back-to-back.

Last year, Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic were the two frontrunners for MVP at the end of the year. As the voting process was nearly done, it became clear that Embiid's lack of consistent availability throughout the year might hurt his chances of winning.

Whether games played made the difference or not, Embiid lost out on MVP to Jokic last season as the Sixers center was the runner-up. This season, Embiid appeared in a career-high of 68 games during the regular season, with nine of those absences due to COVID-19, eliminating the narrative that he can't stay healthy.

In addition to being healthy, Embiid was highly reliable for the Sixers this year as he became the NBA's scoring champion and kept his team alive amid the dreadful Ben Simmons saga. Many people consider Embiid the MVP, but Jokic has a ton of supporters when it comes to the award as well.

Count Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant as somebody that views Embiid as the league's Most Valuable Player. According to Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News, Embiid is certainly Durant's pick. However, the former MVP himself believes that Embiid won't have enough support to win it.

Durant's Explanation

“There’s a lot of players that’s been controlled by their narrative,” Durant said. “Some of it has been because of the player and some of it has been about the perception other people have about that player. In Joel’s case, more people just like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and (Nikola) Jokic.

“It’s as simple as that. His personality, his story I guess. As a basketball player, if people look at just the game and what is on the floor,” Durant continued, “then narrative and who you are and your personality, that stuff doesn’t really matter or shouldn’t matter. Joel, they probably just like those guys better. It’s not fair. But that’s how it goes at times. If I had a vote, I would choose Joel.” via Bondy of NY Daily News

The NBA has yet to crown its MVP for the season officially, but as voters begin to make their picks public, many see the potential results trending towards Jokic winning his second-straight MVP accolade.

If that's indeed the case, then at least Embiid can use some of the player picks around the league, such as Durant's, as a consolation. After all, Durant is one of the top competitors in the league right now. Therefore, his endorsement holds a lot of weight.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.