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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid now believes there is only one path forward for him to get the recognition he deserves, FOX Sports NBA reporter Melissa Rohlin wrote in a Wednesday article.
“What I can control is to try to win a championship,” Embiid told FOX Sports. “And I feel like that's the only way I'm going to get that respect.
“So, that's where all the focus is.”
Embiid is averaging a career-high 33 points per game, putting him just 0.2 points behind Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic for the top spot in the league, according to the NBA. Six players are averaging 30 points or more, including Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the league's MVP award in 2019 and 2020.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic won the NBA's MVP award in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Embiid was a finalist in both years.
While ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins paid his respects to Jokic and called him an unbelievable player, he had a fiery defense to his claim that Joel Embiid is the league's frontrunner for MVP.
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“Just because I feel like Embiid should be in the conversation, should be the frontrunner because he affect both ends of the floor, I'm wrong?” Perkins told fellow ESPN analyst JJ Redick in a Tuesday tweet. “I watched Embiid go (7-for-25) from the field but still dominate the game with (19 rebounds), six blocks, four of them in the second half, when they played like two games ago. I just seen a different impact. I ain't wrong for that, know what I'm saying?”
The conversation has become exhausting for Joel Embiid.
“It doesn't matter anymore,” Embiid said. “… I just want to be respected. I'm competitive, so I play this game to be up there when you talk about the best basketball players ever.
“I know for that, you need awards, you need championships and all of that stuff. It's unfortunate because I don't get to decide on the individual awards.”
