Subscribe
Follow Us
The basketball world was denied a golden opportunity to see two colossal figures go at it with each other Monday night. Everyone waited to see Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid lock horns at Mile High City, but Jokic was left to dance the tango on his own, with Embiid ruled out with a sore right calf.
Without his chief rival for the 2022-23 NBA regular season MVP award, Nikola Jokic was able to have his way against the Sixers, He finished with a triple-double of 25 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists while shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 9-for-11 from the foul line in Denver's 116-111 victory.
Via ESPN Stats & Info:
“In last night's win, Nikola Jokic had his 10th game this season with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. He joins Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players with that many games in a single season.”
Nikola Jokic is simply on a different level than the rest of the league. Joel Embiid is also having an exceptional season, but it does seem that the Serbian star is generally viewed as the favorite to win the MVP award, which would be his third in a row.
After his performance against the Sixers, Jokic is now averaging 24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game, while posting an incredible 63.4 percent shooting from the field.
Unless the Nuggets and the Sixers meet in the 2023 NBA Finals, the next time Jokic and Embiid will get the chance to face each other would be in the next season.
