Warriors’ Draymond Green Picks Between Embiid, Giannis for MVP
The NBA MVP race is coming to an end, and there won’t be any landslide victories. With no clear frontrunner in the opinions of the public, it seems there is a three-man race for the award as Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo are making solid campaigns.
But if you ask Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green what he thinks, he’ll tell you that it’s a two-man race, involving Embiid and Antetokounmpo. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, Green recently offered his take on the battle for the big award on his podcast ‘The Draymond Green Show.’
In a race between the two stars of the Eastern Conference, Embiid and Antetokounmpo, Green believes that the Sixers’ big man has the lead.
"Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo is who I believe the MVP race has come down to," Green said. "[Nikola Jokić], incredible year, as of late he's slipped and those guys have continued to ascend. As of late the Denver Nuggets have slipped and those two teams have ascended. Both players are absolutely amazing. Giannis the other day had a perfect triple-double which was great.
…
"Right now in the MVP race, I think it's Joel. I think it's Joel's award to lose. I think the way he loses that award is his team starts losing. Joel's going to put up Joel numbers, Joel going to do what Joel has been doing. It's Joel's award to lose.”
From an offensive standpoint, Embiid is once again leading the NBA in scoring. While his league-leading 31 points per game didn’t help him collect the MVP award last year, Embiid upped the ante this season as he’s out in front putting up 34 points per game.
Then defensively, Embiid remains one of the league’s better rim protectors, averaging two blocks per game. Also, he’s coming down with ten rebounds per game.
At the end of the day, the opinions of current and former players won’t have too much impact as the MVP award is voted on by select media members.
But the more notable figures in the league talk up Embiid, the better chance that voters are swayed in the Sixers’ big man’s favor.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
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