MY ACCOUNT
Joel Embiid insists he is “not mad” after missing out on the NBA’s MVP award again to Nikola Jokic but continues to show contempt at the award’s voting process.
The Philadelphia 76ers center was runner-up to Jokic last year and according to ESPN the Denver Nuggets’ big man will edge him again for this season’s gong.
Embiid enjoyed arguably a career-best season, with a league-high 30.6 points per game with 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
“I’m not mad,” Embiid told reporters, when speaking after the 76ers’ 120-85 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
“That’s two years in a row I put myself in that position. It didn’t happen. It is almost like, at this point, it is whatever. Whatever happens, happens.
“Last year, I campaigned about it. This year, I answered questions when I was asked, and in the next few years until I retire, it’s almost like … like I said, I wonder what else I have to do to win it, and to me, at this point, it’s whatever.
“It’s all about focusing, not that I wasn’t focused on the bigger picture. It’s really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture, which is to win the whole thing.”
Embiid’s comments come with the 76ers on the brink of elimination after Tuesday’s loss which leaves them 3-2 down in the Conference semi-finals to the Heat.
The 28-year-old Cameroonian added that there was no “right or wrong” answer for the MVP but continued to show derision towards the voting process, insisting he knew weeks ago he would not win.
“This is something that I knew weeks ago, even probably two weeks before the season ended, after those games against whether it was Denver and Milwaukee, and when [ESPN did its] straw poll or whatever. I just knew it wasn’t gonna happen,” Embiid said.
“Obviously, congrats to Nikola. He deserved it. He had an amazing season. There’s no right or wrong. There was a lot of candidates.
“It could have gone either way. Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Devin Booker, being on the best team in the league, by far. I guess, every year is all about whatever you guys decide, whatever fits the narrative as far as who’s gonna win.”
