Since the early portion of the 2020-2021 season, Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic has been a raging NBA MVP debate. You got Embiid, the two-way stud and league’s leading scorer vs. perhaps the world’s best player in Nikola Jokic.
Joel had a leg up on the Serbian-born superstar, who was once drafted 41st overall in the second round by the Denver Nuggets, back in early 2021; that is until Embiid tried to posterize several Washington Wizards and sprained his knee. The number of games Joel missed that season likely cost him his first-ever MVP award. Embiid was the favorite, just ahead of Lakers’ star/GOAT LeBron James, per DraftKings, at the time.