Nerlens Noel Questions MVP Voters, Defending Joel Embiid
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For two-straight years, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid came second to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the MVP race. Detroit Pistons center and former Sixers pick Nerlens Noel questions those behind the decision to vote for Embiid as the runner-up after seeing what the big man has developed into over the years.
“Every year I've seen, he's just taking great steps because his talent was obviously always there, but he's become just a leader, you know?” Nerlens Noel said, discussing Joel Embiid before their matchup on Tuesday night. “Beyond a leader. [He’s] someone that gives himself and his body everything to the team, and you've seen that, and I don't know why he's not higher up there in the MVP votes. Somehow, the media doesn’t show him no love. You can see it every time he’s out there. He gives it his all.”
Embiid first entered the MVP race during the 2020-2021 NBA season. Playing in 51 games, Embiid averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists while knocking down 51 percent of his shots and 38 percent of his threes.
While Embiid was a finalist for the award, he lost to Denver’s Nikola Jokic. At the time, many cited Embiid’s lack of availability throughout the year as a reason why he didn’t take home the hardware. The following year, Embiid made it a goal of his to be even healthier.
As a result, Embiid played in 68 games, which marked a career-high. The Sixers center ended up becoming the NBA’s scoring champion, averaging 31 points while also snagging 12 rebounds and producing four assists per game. He achieved that scoring average while hitting on 50 percent of his shots from the field and knocking down 37 percent of his threes.
Again, Embiid had an MVP-caliber year, which earned him the right to be called a finalist. Unfortunately, becoming a finalist didn’t lead to becoming a winner. For the second time, Embiid lost out to Nikola Jokic.
Will the third time be a charm? Only time will tell. A slower start to the season than usual kept Embiid out of early MVP rankings. At this point, he’s slowly but surely entering the conversation once again.
Through 29 games, Embiid has averaged a career-high of 34 points per game. He’s also coming down with ten rebounds while tacking on five assists per game. His three-point shooting percentage might’ve dropped to 34 percent, but Embiid has hit on 54 percent of his shots from the field this season.
It’s unclear what the MVP race will look like when the season reaches the home stretch, but Noel is hopeful that Embiid will receive a better acknowledgment from the voters this time around.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
