Just weeks ago, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was on his way to another MVP trophy. A lot has changed in a short amount of time and now Embiid’s odds have plummeted.
According to Bovada, via NBACentral, Embiid is no longer the frontrunner to be MVP this season. That honor belongs to Nikola Jokic, who has -125 odds. He is followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with +300, Luka Doncic with +500, Giannis Antetokounmpo with +700, and others. As for Embiid, his odds have slipped all the way down to +2500.
Embiid has been putting up 35.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game this season, shooting 53.3% from the field and doing some of the best work of his career. So, why is Embiid now a long shot to win the trophy he claimed just months ago?
That’s because the NBA recently changed its rules and requires players to participate in at least 65 games in order to be eligible for end-of-season awards. With Embiid missing multiple games recently, he is getting awfully close to being eliminated from winning anything when the season comes to an end. Unless Embiid remains healthy for the reason of the season, he will be prohibited from winning MVP once again.
Embiid’s situation really shakes up the race for Most Valuable Player. It had become very likely that Embiid was going to win again but now that he’s on the verge of being out of the running, all eyes are looking to players such as Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, and others.
Embiid’s most recent injury came toward the close of his team’s game against the Golden State Warriors. It seems very likely that he will miss at least one more game, if not more. The MVP race has now blown wide open because of Embiid’s string of bad injuries.
