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Joel Embiid declares he’s been NBA MVP, touts desire to take his play to ‘another level’

joel embiid, nba mvp

It isn’t just fans and media that think Joel Embiid has been this season’s NBA MVP, the Philadelphia 76ers superstar thinks he is too.

76ers center Embiid has been unbelievable during the 2021-2022 NBA season. Not only does he lead his team in points, rebounds, and blocks, but he leads the entire league in putting Spaldings into baskets at 29.6 points per game.

Joel Embiid says he’s been the NBA MVP…so far

The 29-year-old putting forth a fifth straight all-star season and being one of the very best big men in the league is no revelation. However, this year has been more special than the rest because he has kept the 76ers near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, despite former all-star teammate Ben Simmons sitting out all season in his pursuit to get traded out of Philadelphia.

  • Joel Embiid (2021-2022) stats: 29.6 PPG, 11.2 REB, 1.4 BLK

That is part of why Embiid believes he has been the league’s most valuable player so far when he was asked about the topic by a reporter during Saturday’s NBA All-Star weekend media day.

“I don’t want to push for the whole thing, but the way I’ve been playing speaks for itself,” Embiid said. “Especially with everything we went through, the drama this whole year, obviously missing a big piece and then everything that happened to our team and the way our team is set up.”

Embiid believes he can take his game to even higher levels

joel embiid, nba mvp

Embiid finished second in the MVP vote last season behind fellow big man Nikola Jokic. While this season he has certainly taken his play to new heights, he desires more. He believes there are even greater levels to his potential. Embiid says he can reach that goal by getting into even better shape and having his defense match the juggernaut force he is on offense.

“There’s still another level that I can get to, that I believe I can get to. And I plan to keep working to reach that level,” he said. “Last year was great [but] this year I really had to take my game to an even higher level than last year.

“There’s not a lot of guys that can do that in the league, so I really believe once I get to that level — I don’t get a lot of respect when it comes to my defense. So, I want to be able to be this great offensive player and I already think defensively I’m up there but I really want to earn that respect when it comes to defense, but it takes a lot. It takes your body to be in the best shape possible and I think that’s where I got to get to.”

The 76ers return home from the all-star break to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. On the same night, the man the team flipped the unhappy Simmons for, James Harden, is expected to make his franchise debut.

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