CLEVELAND — Joel Embiid arrived at All-Star Weekend at the top of the race for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. And when asked to make his case at Saturday’s Media Day, the 76ers’ center said “the way I’ve been playing speaks for itself.”
“Especially with everything we went through,” Embiid said, “the drama this whole year, and obviously missing a big piece [Ben Simmons] … I really had to take my game to another level, whether it’s offensively, defensively or playmaking.”
Embiid entered the All-Star break leading the league in scoring at 29.6 points per game — a rarity for a center — while also averaging 11.2 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists per game while shooting 49.5% from the floor and 36.9% from 3-point distance. His team has ascended to third place in the tightly packed Eastern Conference standings at 35-23, and will be a major storyline down the stretch following last week’s blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets that brought 10-time All-Star James Harden to Philly in exchange for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks.
Embiid’s top competition for the award right now are reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the award the previous two seasons. Players like the Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul and the Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan are also in the mix.
When asked if this season is the best of his career, Embiid responded, “Yes, so far,” but quickly added “there’s still another level that I believe I can get to, and [I] plan to keep working to reach that level.” He highlighted the physical improvements he has made during the past two years through nutrition, conditioning and injury treatment and prevention, which have given Embiid the durability to play in 29 of the Sixers’ past 30 games (he missed their Jan. 31 overtime win for planned rest). He played through a knee injury early in the season, and has been dealing with a hand/wrist issue in recent games.
“I’m not close to where I want to be when it comes to my body,” Embiid said. " … To be asked to do everything offensively and defensively, it takes a toll and it’s hard. There’s not a lot of guys that can do that in the league. … It takes your body to be in the best shape possible, and I think that’s where I’m gonna get to.”
Embiid believes that continued progress will help him “earn that respect” on the defensive end that he does not think he presently receives. He also wants to continue expanding his offensive game, including “acting like Steph [Curry]” while coming off pin-down screens for shots.
“I believe that I have the opportunity and I have the skill level to be able to do that,” Embiid said. “I know a lot of guys, especially Shaq [O’Neal] and Charles [Barkley] and all of those guys, they always say, ‘You gotta stay in the paint. You got to be dominant in the paint.’ Which, at times, I can pick and choose and I know when I have to do that. But in today’s game, it’s hard.
“I get doubled and triple-teamed every single possession, so to be able to get the shot off, I’ve got to do a lot of other things.”
