PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia 76ers are coming down the home stretch of the NBA regular season. Naturally, the debate over most valuable player is heating up, and one of the Sixers' most beloved and talented athletes is considered a leading contender.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is having a career year — averaging 30 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game and shooting career highs in field goal and three point percentage.
As he says in this one-on-one interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium Sports Network, Embiid believes he is worthy of winning.
If Embiid does win MVP, he would be the first center to do so since Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in 2000. However, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić is arguably Embiid’s stiffest competition for the prestigious award — and some observers believe he should get it.
O’Neal is not one of them, as he explained on TNT's "Inside The NBA" prior to the Sixers' 124-117 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night — which wasn't one of Embiid's best games.
The biggest knock on Embiid this season is his availability. He’s missed 18 of the Sixers' 59 games in a 72-game regular season. While O’Neal vouches for Embiid, Sixers icon Charles Barkley think the missed games will play a factor. Jokić hasn’t missed any games.
Two-time NBA champ Kenny Smith appears to agree with Barkley.
Jokić has excellent stats, as well: 26.4 points per game, 11 rebounds per game and 8.7 assists per game. That last number if very appealing to those in favor of “The Joker.”
The Nuggets are also 38-20, which is one win less than the Sixers — showing that Jokić’s individual performance, like Embiid’s, is resulting in victories as well.
It may also be notable that, in both Sixers-Nuggets matchups this season — which Denver won — Embiid didn’t play because of injuries. It's unfortunate, because those games might have worked as a good tie-breaker in a too-close-to-call race between the Embiid and Jokić.
The Sixers have 13 games left, while the Nuggets have 14. That’s still a decent amount of time for either candidate to make his case on the court. And of course, other players should not be counted out altogether, even with so much buzz around these two talented centers.
'Inside' crew makes their latest Eastern Conference predictions
The 76ers are very much in contention to win the Eastern Conference, having been in first place in the East for most of the season, but throughout this season, predictions from the "Inside the NBA" crew have been a moving target.
As of Friday morning, after their loss to Milwaukee, the Sixers are tied for first with the Brooklyn Nets. The Bucks are only 2 1/2 games behind (two back in the loss column and three in the win column).
The Sixers own the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Nets. The Bucks will own that over the 76ers thanks to Thursday’s win.
At halftime, during the Sixers-Bucks game, when "Inside" host Ernie Johnson asked who's winning the East, O’Neal said Brooklyn, Charles Barkley said the Bucks, and Kenny Smith said he wasn’t sure, adding that he thinks seeding and playoff matchups are very important.
As a matter of record, O’Neal appeared to back the Sixers a couple of weeks ago, saying "Philly is my favorite."
Barkley called the Sixers his favorites back in January after they didn’t trade Ben Simmons to the Houston Rockets for James Harden, who instead went to Brooklyn. Now he likes Milwaukee, because they have high-quality role players in former Sixer and Pelican Jrue Holiday, in his first season with the Bucks, and P.J. Tucker, who they traded for prior to the deadline.
Holiday made an All-Stars team with the Sixers many years ago. Barkley says he believes Holiday is an upgrade over guard Eric Bledsoe, who the Bucks traded to New Orleans for him.