PHILADELPHIA — For Joel Embiid, this was always the risk.
Late Monday night, Nikola Jokić stood in a snow squall of confetti, a sheepish grin on his face, a metallic basketball in his hand. His teammates surrounded him. Some of them rubbed his do-it-yourself buzz cut. Others rubbed his ill-defined chest. They were congratulating him on that small golden trophy, named in honor of one of the NBA’s greatest centers and also one of its greatest winners. As Jokic raised the Bill Russell trophy in the air, the arena began chanting the three letters it signified.
M-V-P. M-V-P. M-V-P.
