Warriors’ Steph Curry Explains Picking 76ers’ Joel Embiid for MVP
NBA players don’t get to vote for the NBA’s end-of-year awards, but if they did, then Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry would cast his MVP vote in favor of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.
For the third-straight season, Embiid is likely on pace to becoming a finalist. In the previous two seasons, Embiid was named the NBA’s MVP runner-up. He lost to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic both times.
Once again, Jokic is in the picture. And at this point in the season, many believe that the MVP race is down to Embiid and Jokic for a third-straight year. In Curry’s eyes, Embiid has earned the right to pick up his first MVP nod.
"Any person you pick, their body of work could be compared to Jokić or Giannis,” Curry told Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. “But Joel took a leap that I think a lot of people didn't expect because he was dominant already. That leap turned heads and put Philly in a great position. If I had to pick, it would be him."
Last year, Embiid was crowned the NBA’s scoring champion as he averaged 30.6 points per game. While leading the league in scoring, Embiid averaged 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.5 blocks. He achieved those averages in 68 games.
This year, Embiid leveled up. With the season concluding, he’s on pace to once again be crowned the NBA’s scoring champion, averaging 33 points per game. As he’s scoring at a higher level than last season, Embiid is also shooting much more efficiently, as he’s knocked down 54 percent of his field goals, which marks a career-high.
In addition to his scoring, Embiid averages 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, one steal, and 1.7 blocks. The MVP race is coming down to the wire once again, but it seems Embiid has more support than ever.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
