The Philadelphia 76ers put together a convincing display on Christmas during their 121-109 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. A key factor in that outcome was the defensive impact that Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid provided.

It was intentional for Embiid to come out against the Bucks with a strong defensive showing because he has a desire to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award this season. There is hardly a better time to bolster one's resume for such hardware than on national television, let along on a major holiday with many people watching.

“You know, you know the whole season I've been humble, uhmm but I want to be defensive player of the year and I feel like tonight showed it,” Embiid said, via Malika Andrews of ESPN.

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Last season, Embiid was named to the All-Defensive Second Team but was unable to insert himself among Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Paul George as a finalist for the NBA's top honor for a defensive player.

While Embiid's was fourth in total points for the voting with 26 total points, he trailed the third-place George (150) by a total of 124 points. It is also worth noting that the Sixers big man received just a single first place vote and just four second place votes.

It's clear that Embiid needed to take his defensive impact to another level if he were to become a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2019-20. Building more of a narrative may be essential to supplant Gobert's reputation, which can be done by showing up in big moments as Embiid did against the Bucks.