When the All-NBA Teams were announced Tuesday, Joel Embiid's name was noticeably missing in the First Team. Naturally much like the rest of the sports world, the snub shocked Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.
Tatum made it to the First Team himself, alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Devin Booker. However, Embiid who finished second in MVP voting fell to the Second Team.
The reality is it's hard for two centers to make it to the All-NBA First Team. While the NBA allows to vote for either Jokic and Embiid as forwards, they still assign positions to every players in the end–meaning the teams should have two guards, two forwards and one center.
While Embiid himself got more First Team votes over Tatum, the Celtics star got more votes as a forward while Jokic got more as a center. Due to that system, Embiid was relegated to the Second Team.
While a change in the said system would affect him, Tatum highlighted that All-NBA voting should be positionless. After all, it doesn't make sense that the 2021-22 MVP runners-up is in the Second Team despite having First Team credentials.
“I do think it should be positionless,” the Celtics star said, per Bleacher Report. “Joel Embiid was second in MVP voting and he made second team? It doesn’t really make too much sense.”
It is truly unfair for Joel Embiid to be in the Second Team. Vote-wise, he should be in the First Team since last year, but that hasn't been the case. However, it is not really his fault that big men are dominating the NBA today.
As Jayson Tatum suggested, it might be time for a change.
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