Danny Pommells and Noah Levick discuss what the Sixers need to focus on leading into their first round playoff matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
The 2022 NBA MVP race is an absolute bloodbath, both in terms of the quality of players at the top of the league this year and in terms of how heated the conversation has become.
No one on either side of the Nikola Jokic vs. Joel Embiid debate wants to give an inch. It seems like Jokic is probably going to win a second straight MVP award, which is a bummer - despite how incredible and deserving Jokic is, I think Embiid impacts the game in a more dominating fashion and had precious little help all season long.
But we're not here for my opinion. No, we're here for the opinion of ESPN talking head and general wild guy Stephen A. Smith, who on Wednesday morning explained why he voted for Embiid to win MVP.
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Here's Smith's interesting, and slightly unhinged, take on the award:
"In the end, I had to give my vote to Joel Embiid.
"I understood there was a slight hiccup once James Harden arrived, so I paid attention to that.
NBA
"In those first few games James Harden arrived he still had 34, 37, 27, two 22-point games.
"The last 15 games or so: 43, 27, 35, 34, 35, 32, had a 21-point game right, 30, 27, 37, 29, 37, 29, 44, 45, 30, 41. This is what Joel Embiid is doing.
"And the Sixers: limited bench, Top 10 defense. We know Jokic don't play defense like Joel Embiid. We know that. I had to take that into consideration.
"And then you know what I had to do? You know who convinced me? Are you ready for this? Zoolander. That's who convinced me. The male model. [...] Why's a male model relevant to this conversation? Ben Simmons. Did you see the green outfit last night? Did you see the ice? Looking like a male model - he's a good looking dude obviously - but that's who the hell Joel Embiid had to deal with. You quit on the team, had mental [health] issues, you're there but you're not there, you don't want to play. Joel Embiid had to deal with that all year long - not a dude that was injured, a dude that quit."
I have no idea what I just listened to, but I agree with Smith's ultimate point!
I also think that mentioning Simmons in Embiid's candidacy for MVP is pretty important. The award is often determined by narratives, and Embiid's story this year is an insane one.
If Simmons was simply hurt all year long, that would be one thing. But Simmons quit, leaving Embiid - the leader of the team, and the organization - to answer questions night in and night out for more than half a season. He never got frustrated, never boiled over, and played the best basketball of his life while keeping the squad together.
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A situation that toxic could've turned into something ugly; instead, Embiid picked the team up both on and off the court. That's not nothing! That's a big deal!
I'll have no problem when Jokic wins the award, because he's a fantastic player. That's a fact.
But Embiid had to go through so much B.S. this year and came out the other side looking like an absolute baller. He's earned the MVP, I think he deserves it, and so does Stephen A. We'll see what the rest of the voters say.