The 2022-2023 NBA MVP will be crowned soon and it'll likely either come down to the Nuggets' Nikola Jokic or the Sixers' Joel Embiid. Oddsmakers seem to believe it'll be Jokic, but some observers argue he doesn't deserve to win the award for the third straight year.

Whether it's voter fatigue or the fact that Jokic hasn't gone on to reach the NBA Finals after his MVP crowns (even though the award is for the regular season), many believe Embiid should win the award instead.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith certainly believes Embiid should be the frontrunner, especially as the Nuggets continue to falter in recent games despite Jokic's performances.

ā€œI don't want to hear anything about [Nikola] Jokic being a front-runner for the MVP right now the way [the Nuggets] has tailed off,ā€ Smith said on ā€œFirst Takeā€ recently. ā€œJoel Embiid has got to be right up there, if not number one.ā€

While it's true that the Nuggets have been in a slump with three straight defeats, the fact still remains that they are comfortably number one in the Western Conference with a 46-22 record and look unlikely to drop down by the time the playoffs arrive. If Jokic is to lose a potential third straight MVP, it's not going to be because of a few poor results while Denver remain first.

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With that said, Embiid certainly has a case for winning the MVP, especially with the Sixers holding a 45-22 record in third in the East. The star center is also averaging an impressive 33.4 points, 10 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 54 games.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the final few weeks pan out for the MVP debate.