Kia MVP Rankings: Nikola Jokic moves to No. 1 as Joel Embiid released due to injuryNikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are progressing, while Joel Embiid’s Kia team MVP is in jeopardy due to injury.
This week opens a wide debate on the new collective bargaining agreement of the NBA, which requires a minimum of 65 games played to be able to win the highest rewards of the league.
Reigning Kia MVP Joel Embiid is dangerously close to disqualification after missing three of Philadelphia’s last four games with left knee soreness before suffering a left lateral meniscus injury Tuesday at Golden State.
According to the NBA’s New Player Participation Policy, all major awards, including MVP and All-NBA, require a player to miss no more than 17 games.
Embiid is expected to miss his 14th game Saturday against Brooklyn. That means he would be four games away from being disqualified and becoming MVP again.
Kia’s latest run in the MVP standings shows just how precarious the big man’s status is.One stat you should know: 53.3 – This is Embiid’s field goal percentage.
This makes the seven-time All-Star become just the third player (Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan are the others) in NBA history to average 35 points or more while shooting at least 50 percent from the field in a season. .
What they’re saying: “Freak plays with him and [Jonathan Kuminga] dives for the ball.”
Maybe it’s not so bad if the knee isn’t already bad. Now we have one of our biggest faces in this league, our league’s MVP, who could be injured for an extended period of time because he’s forcing it (to meet the league’s mandatory 65-game schedule). –
Warriors forward Draymond Green talks on “The Draymond Green Show” about Embiid’s injury.
It’s not just Embiid: Several players competing for big money are in the same situation as the Sixers center due to missing games.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is already ineligible with 21 games missed, while Miami Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have missed 15 and 10 games, respectively.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is in line for a spot on the All-NBA team and had missed just three games in the first three months of the season before suffering a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for 10 more matches.
