Kevin Durant would vote Joel Embiid for MVP, but doesn’t think he’ll win: ‘It’s not fair’
If it were up to Kevin Durant, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid would win the league’s MVP honors this season.
Durant, however, isn’t confident that Embiid will actually get it.
“There’s a lot of players that’s been controlled by their narrative,” Durant said Tuesday before their play-in game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, via the New York Daily News. “Some of it has been because of the player and some of it has been about the perception other people have about that player. In Joel’s case, more people just like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and [Nikola] Jokic.
“It’s as simple as that. His personality, his story I guess. As a basketball player, if people look at just the game and what is on the floor, then narrative and who you are and your personality, that stuff doesn’t really matter or shouldn’t matter. Joel, they probably just like those guys better. It’s not fair. But that’s how it goes at times."
Embiid, along with Antetokounmpo and Jokic, is a favorite to win the MVP award — and he’s certainly done enough to put himself in the conversation.
Embiid averaged a career-high 30.6 points per game this season, which was enough to earn him the NBA scoring title. He’s the first international player to win that award, and the first center to do so in more than two decades. Embiid also averaged a career-best 11.7 rebounds per game, and dropped at least 40 points in three of his final four games of the regular season.
Like Durant, Embiid thinks he’s done enough to be the league MVP this season, but still has his doubts.
“If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, I don’t know what I have to do,” he said earlier this month. “I’ll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else.”
Votes for the MVP award have already been cast, and it’s sure to be a tight race between the three big men.
Though he doesn’t get the chance to, Durant would cast his ballot for Embiid.
"He led the league in scoring, double-doubles, his team won 50 games this year. Numbers were incredible. It's a great year,” Durant said, via ESPN.
"But you can just close your eyes and just pick any one of the guys out of the top six or seven, and you can have a good MVP this year. That shows how great our league is right now and how talented our league is from top to bottom, but I would go with Embiid if I had to choose."
