Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is taking over the NBA MVP race by sheer brute force, punctuating his efforts to win the newly-named Michael Jordan award with a 52-point effort against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. Even with the stiff competition provided by reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Embiid appears to be swaying the sentiment of award voters towards his favor.

Even then, Embiid seems to be cementing his status as the people's MVP, especially with Jokic and the Nuggets in the middle of an uninspired stretch of basketball that hit its nadir in a loss to the Houston Rockets the same night the Sixers' center torched the Celtics by scoring more points than the rest of his team combined.

Adding to those who believe that Sixers star Joel Embiid is deserving of the 2022-23 MVP trophy is Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, who expressed his full support for his fellow countryman.

ā€œIf I had a vote for MVP, it's got to be like, you know, my Cameroonian brother. It's got to be Embiid. He's been doing it for years. Like this year, [he's] doing it at an incredible level. He's just playing unbelievable basketball, like the team is winning [And] he's doing it on both ends of the floor,ā€ Siakam said on The Draymond Green Show by Volume Sports.

Of course, given the talent level and the production of the presumptive top three MVP candidates (Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo), there are no wrong answers when it comes to the question of who deserves to win the award. But the latter two have already won the accolade in the past, and as deserving as they may remain, it's time for the Sixers star to receive his much-deserved flowers.

ā€œI'm sure there's like other people out there that deserve it, like you know, Tatum and Jokic and all these people. Obviously I might be biased, but at the same time, it would be awesome to see someone from where I'm from win an MVP. That would be crazy. It's a crazy inspiration. Just to know that this is really possible,ā€ Siakam added.