Subscribe
Follow Us
With just one more game remaining in the regular season, the scoring title is now Joel Embiid's to lose. That is unless a miraculous turn of events goes down in the favor of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who mathematically speaking, can still snatch away the crown from Embiid during Sunday's season finale.
The odds are stacked against the Bucks talisman, though, with Embiid currently holding a commanding lead over him. Right now, the only way Giannis can steal away the scoring title from the Sixers star is if Antetokounmpo goes full Kobe Bryant on Sunday (h/t StatMuse on Twitter):
Joel Embiid pretty much has the scoring title in the bag.
Even if he plays the last game of the season tomorrow and scores 0 points, Giannis would have to score 47 to pass him.
If Embiid sits out tomorrow, Giannis needs 78 points. pic.twitter.com/QGk1kk7oXZ
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 9, 2022
Embiid enters Sunday with a scoring average of 30.4 points per game. This was after his 41-point explosion on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. Giannis, on the other hand, is at 29.9. As the above factoid states, Antetokounmpo will need to score a whole bunch of points on Sunday. At this point, it looks like Embiid is a lock for the scoring title.
It is worth noting, however, that in his mind, all of this does not matter to Giannis. In a recent interview, the former back-to-back MVP revealed why he could not care any less about the scoring title or the MVP crown for that matter:
“It holds you back. I really believe in this,” the Bucks star said. “You don’t get to your full potential if you worry on those things. I’m obsessed with basketball, I really want to be the best that I can be. I’ve shown it times and times that I’m about that. I’m not about scoring champ, I couldn’t care less. I’m not about MVP, I couldn’t care less.
“I just want to be the best player that I can be, and wherever that takes me, I’m okay with that. If I keep worrying about winning the scoring champ … it takes me away from the goals I really want to achieve.”
I must admit, this was a very impressive monologue from Giannis. Either way, though, there's just no way he's going to upset Embiid for the scoring title anymore.
Interestingly enough, one man who could have given Embiid a run for his money was LeBron James. Before being shut down for the remainder of the season due to injury, the Lakers superstar was at 30.3 points per game. However, the fact that The King played in just 56 games this season took him out of the race for not meeting the minimum game requirement.
