PHILADELPHIA — The NBA MVP debate is once again a heated race. Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has overtaken the lead but Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are not far behind. In the midst of such a packed race, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is asking for the debate to become more respectful.

When asked to comment on Embiid winning his third Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award of the season, Rivers instead went on a long diatribe about the MVP debate. The Sixers coach blasted the discourse for its tendency to push other guys down rather than prop someone up.

“I’m gonna say this one more time,” Rivers said. “I’m gonna try to stay off this subject. Joel is the MVP. I thought he was the MVP last year. But I want to make a point: Can we stop putting people down? We should be celebrating our guys in the league. Giannis, Jayson Tatum, Joker — all of them are great. We don’t need to push one down to elevate the other guy. They all are completely different players.”

“Joel, in my opinion, is the best of that. I don’t think anyone needs me to campaign for him. I think the proof is in the pudding,” Rivers continued. “Having said that, I respect all of them and I don’t know what’s going on lately. It just seems like every time to validate one, you have to push down the other guy. No, you don’t. They’re all great. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. In my opinion, Joel is the best of that group. And that’s not putting down anyone. I think we need to stop this stuff that’s going on right now.”

Rivers publicized his strong stance just days after former NBA coach George Karl baselessly blasted Embiid for his body language and anger, among other things, while stating his support for Jokic. Karl's take is far from the only instance of someone tearing down a player to prop up another but it serves as the perfect example of how toxic the debate can get.

Other NBA figures like Anthony Edwards, Julius Erving, DeMarcus Cousins and Rick Carlisle have opined for Embiid being the MVP but focused those takes more on the Sixers superstar's strengths than others' weaknesses. Others have done the same in favor of Jokic (like Nikola Vucevic) and Antetokounmpo (like Brian Windhorst). At the end of the day, Rivers would prefer to see MVP talk be more supportive than disparaging.