Joel Embiid Surpasses Nikola Jokic on NBA's MVP Ladder

Ever since last season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been mentioned up there with some of the best players in the game. As the Sixers star was

Ever since last season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been mentioned up there with some of the best players in the game. As the Sixers star was having a career year during the 2020-2021 season, he was receiving MVP consideration as soon as the major award debates started up.

By the time the All-Star break arrived, Embiid was considered a strong favorite to take home the hardware. However, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic was a close second. And as Jokic stayed healthy, Embiid battled through some setbacks.

A knee injury sidelined Embiid for ten-straight games coming out of the All-Star break last season. Considering he missed a handful of games earlier in the season, his MVP hopes and dreams diminished.

When the voters finally made their decision at the end of the year, Jokic was the winner. Embiid became the MVP runner-up.

Fast forward to the All-Star break this season and Embiid is right back in the conversation. Although he had a slow start to the year and had a tough battle with COVID-19, which kept him off the court for nine-straight games, Embiid has been as healthy as ever this season and he continues to dominate.

On Friday, NBA.com released its latest MVP ladder. For the first time this year, Embiid topped the rankings and he surpassed the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to get there.

Embiid on Top

"We mentioned Philly’s record of 4-8 with Embiid off the floor, but what’s most important is the Sixers are 27-12 when the big man plays. Deservedly, Embiid won Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January, a month in which he absolutely caught fire. Over his 14 games in January, Embiid averaged an NBA-best 34.0 points to go with 10.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 blocks, all while shooting 54.2% from the floor. Since the 1981-82 season, Embiid is one of just five players to average 34 points and 10 rebounds in a month while playing in at least 10 games, joining Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Karl Malone, and Moses Malone." - Michael C. Wright

Embiid winning back-to-back player of the month awards should surely help his case when the voters get to it at the end of the year once again. However, there is still a lot of basketball left to be played, so it's too early to lock Embiid in as the MVP favorite.

If the Sixers' big man can stay healthy and continues producing at such a high level, he will have a real shot at taking home the MVP award at the end of the year. 

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