Joel Embiid scored 52 points Tuesday night against the defending Eastern Conference champions, and afterwards Doc Rivers said his big man had ended the MVP discussion.
ESPN talking head and MVP voter Stephen A. Smith agrees.
Smith went on his flagship show "First Take" Wednesday morning and said that he'll be using his MVP vote on the Sixers' dominant superstar.
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Here's Smith's reasoning behind his choice:
"I have a vote. Embiid is getting my vote. I think he's been absolutely spectacular this season. Unlike years past he's going to end up playing as many games as Jokic, because Jokic has missed a few himself. [Embiid has] had to carry the Philadelphia 76ers on his back throughout the season - Maxey has been down due to injury, Harden has been up and down when he has played [...] Embiid, to me, is absolutely spectacular and also dominant. Inside, outside. When we look at Joel Embiid right now, it's the Sixers' playoff futility [...] that is the only thing that we haven't talked more about Joel Embiid being one of the greatest big men in the history of basketball."
Smith went on to list Embiid among the great big men like Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abudl-Jabbar, and the like.
NBA
It's basically impossible to disagree with anything Smith said.
Embiid has had a dominant season, one for the ages. He's leading the NBA in scoring with an absurd, career-high 33.3 points per game. He has been the catalyst for the Sixers on both ends of the floor all season long and is one of the league's most dominant forces, offensively and defensively.
There are arguments to be made in favor of Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they're not incorrect arguments. Ultimately, when there are three players this good, the voting is subjective based on what a voter values. Smith clearly values Embiid's specific brand of dominance.
To me, the narrower battle should be between Embiid and Antetokounmpo because I think those two are more dominant two-way players than Jokic. I also think Embiid's game has more depth - his ability to get buckets from all three levels is superior - than Antetokounmpo's, and he outpaces the Greak Freak in points, blocks, and steals per 100 possessions, along with true shooting percentage and offensive rating. (Antetokounmpo has more rebounds and assists per 100 possessions, and a one-point edge in defensive rating.)
Is there a wrong answer? No. Is there a right answer? Probably not. But Embiid feels like the most right answer, right now.