“Playing Better Than the Year He Won MVP”: Joel Embiid Is on His Way to Repeat as per Ex-NBA Champ

Many fans felt that the Philadelphia 76ers would end up struggling after the departure of James Harden. However, that has certainly not been the case, as the 76ers are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference right now.

Coming in at the third spot in the East, a lot of credit for the team’s success goes to the reigning MVP, Joel Embiid. And with the way the All-Star center has been playing this year, this former NBA champion believes that he may be able to have another run for the MVP award.

Can Joel Embiid repeat another MVP season?

The Philadelphia 76ers have a 20-8 overall season record, with their latest win over the Toronto Raptors. Philly has had a string of winning games where the team was able to lock down and go on certain runs for weeks.

The departure of James Harden made fans and even analysts feel that the 76ers may have a void in offensive production after he left. But instead, Embiid and the rest of the players stepped up to the occasion on a nightly basis.

This year, Joel Embiid has been playing exceptionally well. And his splendid performance night in and night out has caught the attention of former NBA champion, Steve Smith. Smith spoke about Embiid on NBA TV’s show, Game Time.

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That is where he said, “I like the way he’s playing [now], better than the year he won the MVP!”

Smith also went on to add that Embiid is playing big boy basketball and is sending it to everyone around the league. And rightfully so, given what Embiid has been averaging this year so far with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Embiid’s MVP season so far

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers have been a force not to be trifled with so far this season. The team started off the season with an eight-game winning streak and just recently got off a six-game winning streak as well.

As for Embiid, he is averaging 35.0 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 6.0 APG this season, with a 65.1 true shooting percentage. These numbers are a tad high compared to the numbers he was averaging the past year.

So, Steve Smith is not wrong when he said that Embiid has been playing better than his MVP season. Now the question is, can he win back-to-back MVPs with the way that he has been performing? 

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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