CAMDEN, N.J. — Joel Embiid is starting to separate himself from the pack in the MVP chase. The Philadelphia 76ers' big man is making history night after night and leading his team to wins. Oddsmakers are pointing to Embiid as the favorite and the strength of his candidacy has been reinforced by Sixers legend Julius Erving.
When asked if he believes Joel Embiid is worthy of the MVP, Erving said that he is but noted that the competition remains stiff with superstars like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic.
“I think he's definitely worthy. I think he's been worthy in the past,” Evring said. “Jokic is formidable. Tremendous numbers and his team was leading the conference for most of the season. So he's formidable, Giannis is formidable and Luka is formidable. One of those four and it might be Joel's turn, which would be poetically justifiable.”
Yes, Erving is still fond of the Sixers and is rooting for them to win the championship. Although some clear bias exists within the Philadelphia icon (which he admitted to), he said months ago that he believes Embiid should be the MVP. That was at a time when Jokic was the runaway favorite. Now, as his Denver Nuggets skid and Embiid's Sixers push for a ninth straight win, the odds are much different.
At the moment, Embiid is listed at -190 to win the award on FanDuel Sportsbook. Jokic is behind him at +300 while Antetokounmpo trails them both at +440. No one else is close, leaving a three-person race that Embiid has a sizable lead in as the regular season winds down.
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