What are Nikola Jokic’s Thoughts on MVP Race Before Facing 76ers?

For the third year in a row, the NBA MVP race will have two familiar faces named as finalists for the award. One is the two-time winner, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Another is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who was named the runner-up both times Jokic won.

For a while, it seemed a three-peat was in play for Jokic, but Embiid’s recent stretch of performances during the second half of the season really challenged that idea.

Since the All-Star break, Embiid has averaged 34 points while shooting 57 percent from the field. During the 16-game stretch, Embiid also averaged ten rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three blocks.

Recently, Embiid climbed to the top of the NBA’s MVP ladder and is the favorite for most sports books at this point in the year.

While Embiid’s proven in the past that he would like to have an MVP accolade on his list of accomplishments, he claims to not put too much stock in the award this season, as he’s focused on the bigger picture.

As for the two-time winner Jokic, he seems to be on a similar wavelength

According to EuroHoops.net, Jokic is taking the 2022-2023 NBA season one game at a time. And if he doesn’t become the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP three times in a row, then he’s ready to live with the results and focus elsewhere.

“I play one game at a time, and that’s it,” Jokic told Glas Amerike. “If it’s going to be, it’s going to be. Whoever wins will deserve to win, that’s how it will be for sure.”

The Monday night battle between the Sixers and the Nuggets had a lot of hype behind it, considering it marked the second and final time Embiid and Jokic would face each other before the winner was decided.

In the first outing between the Sixers and the Nuggets this season, Embiid outplayed Jokic in several key departments, including scoring, rebounding, and steals. Jokic had four more assists while tying Embiid with two blocks on defense. Ultimately, Embiid led his team to a win over the Nuggets.

Monday offered Jokic an opportunity to battle back with a better showing — and offered Embiid a chance further to state his case as the winner this season. Unfortunately, none of that will happen.

As Embiid’s been dealing with calf tightness over the past week, he will finally get a night off on Monday against the Nuggets. Jokic will have a chance to take advantage of an Embiid-less lineup in Denver to make a better case for his own campaign, but it seems that’s not on his list of priorities at the moment.

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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