Sixers star Joel Embiid is now only 8 missed games away from losing this season’s MVP eligibility

Joel Embiid finally returned to action this Monday night against the Rockets and delivered an outstanding performance which just comes to show he’s truly worthy of his current status as the NBA’s MVP. His 41-point double-double catapulted the Sixers to a 124-115 win, after he had been sidelined due to a recurrent sickness. 

The thing is, the Philadelphia player has already missed 10 games this campaign and is on pace to play just 60 regular-season contests, which would make him ineligible for the end of the year awards, such as All-NBA and MVP. In other words, the big man is only eight missed games away from losing his chance of conquering a second-consecutive accolade as the league’s best athlete.

Embiid’s health has been a constant topic around the NBA this campaign, despite the fact that every time he plays, he absolutely dominates. After his recent display against Houston, the 76ers center revealed he has been hearing a lot of gossip around his absences, but he wanted to use the opportunity to set the record straight.

Joel Embiid, with an extended answer on the opportunity for a “measuring stick” game against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets tonight.

“Who doesn’t want to play against the best?…it’s fun to play against the best. You kind of measure yourself and see where you are.” pic.twitter.com/ok35lTGXf4

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) January 16, 2024

“I saw it,” Joel confessed. “But I can’t control if I get sick, if I get the flu or whatever. Can’t control that. Can’t control if my knee is gonna swell up. It just happened. It was against New Orleans and Boston. I got the flu, obviously you can’t go. A lot of guys on the team had it. Like I said, the goal is to be ready for the playoffs. If I cant meet the criteria of 65 games, and if I can’t play against some of the best teams in the league then… As long as I’m ready to be dominant when it gets to that time in April, that’s all I care about.”

The reigning MVP guaranteed that he’s become a victim of social media trends, as fans and media outlets use his name to invent any narrative just to get likes or attention. He admitted that all this trolling just gives him more fuel to play stronger.

“Every single team that I play against, I dominate. We win and I put up numbers necessary to win. You can’t read too much into it because one of the main things that I see is that as soon as you use the name Joel Embiid, that’s gonna get you a lot of likes and that’s gonna get you a lot of money. As long as my name has a chance to help somebody make money, I’m all for it. Keep trolling. I like it, I love it,” he expressed.

It would be unfortunate if Embiid isn’t eligible for the year-end awards, as he’s been putting up the numbers to win most of them. Joel’s recent exhibition against the Rockets was his 16th consecutive game scoring at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, which has him tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the second-longest streak.

Former star Shaquille O’Neal still challenges Embiid to prove he can also dominate in the playoffs

Shaquille O’Neal still remembers the time that legend Abdul-Jabbar told him he still needed to prove himself in the big stage before being considered a true icon, and he used this same example to challenge Embiid to see if he’s able to deliver in the NBA playoffs.

“I’m a give it to him like Kareem gave it to me. He should take it as disrespectful,” the Hall of Famer said this weekend. “That’s my message to Mr. Embiid. We know what you can do but can you do it at the big dance?”

The ESPN analyst questioned the big man, mostly due to the fact that he’s already missed a number of games against other top teams, including the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves. His next big clash will come on Tuesday as his team host Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

This campaign, the Sixers center has been averaging a league-leading 34.9 points, 11.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and two blocks per match on 53.6% overall shooting.