Embiid Denies Using MVP as Motivation for Playing Through Injury

Ever since coming to Philadelphia, Joel Embiid has made it clear that he wants to win a title with the Sixers. While winning as a team is the star center's No.

Ever since coming to Philadelphia, Joel Embiid has made it clear that he wants to win a title with the Sixers. While winning as a team is the star center's No. 1 priority, he's also made it clear that he wants to collect some accolades for himself.

The four-time All-Star is a shoo-in for the big showcase every year these days. Now, he's gunning to be crowned the best player in the league. Last year, Embiid was mighty close. As he came into the season in the best shape of his career, Embiid was a man on a mission.

By the time the All-Star break rolled around, many considered him to be the clear-cut favorite to win MVP at the time. Unfortunately, when he returned to the court after the break, Embiid went down with a knee injury, which forced him to miss ten games.

In total, Embiid missed 21 games during the shortened 72-game season last year. The other MVP favorite, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, remained healthy throughout the entire year. Therefore, when the MVP voting came around during last year's playoff run, Embiid lost out and became the runner-up. And many argued that the Sixers star missed too many games to qualify as the winner.

One would think that's what's keeping Embiid on the court this year despite the star center dealing with knee soreness. Ever since the first game of the regular season, Embiid's been battling a physical setback. He's been questionable going into four out of the five games this season, and he hasn't considered actually sitting out.

Is last year's MVP results creeping into the star's mind? Embiid denies that's the case. As the Sixers are already down a star in Ben Simmons, who has yet to see the floor this year, Embiid is attempting to carry to load himself for the time being.

"I'm just trying to be available for my teammates and my team, every single night playing hard, trying to do the best job I can," Embiid explained following Thursday night's victory over Detroit. "That has nothing to do with anything, and every single year I come in with the mindset of playing as many games as I can. This year obviously, that first game is unfortunate. I got hit during the first game, and it kind of handicapped me, but every single year I come in with the mindset that I got to play more games than I have in the past. And so far this year, I am on the right path, and whatever I am needed to do, I am going to be doing it."

Embiid has admittedly been off to a slightly underwhelming start in comparison to previous seasons. While his knee concerns could play a part in that, Embiid mentioned that he doesn't want to use that as an excuse on Tuesday. Instead, he believes he's been switching his role a bit and becoming a "point center" and creating opportunities for his teammates.

However, the star center changed his ways on Thursday night. Getting up 19 shots from the field and heading to the free-throw line eight times, Embiid collected a season-high of 30 points in the win over the Pistons. While some might argue the star center shouldn't push his limits this early on in the year, Embiid sees the situation differently. As long as he's not dealing with anything too significant, he's willing to push through the pain and perform alongside his teammates on any given night.

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