Camila Sosa
The newest star attached to the Philadelphia 76ers team, NBA guard and ten-time All-Star James Harden seems more committed than ever so far this season and beyond wanting to win a championship, he also wants to get recognition for his co-star Joel Embiid, which is nothing more and nothing less than the award for most valuable player or MVP of the league.
James Harden’s Statement on Joel Embiid
In a statement he gave to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, it’s clear that the 32-year-old guard has no other candidate in his mind for the award, and it’s his own partner who is chosen.
“You deserve it, man. I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks but I can already see his mentality. He just wants to win, some just want to have good numbers but he has both. He has the necessary winning mentality and also scores the ball at a very high level. I think he’s prepared himself, especially after last year, to have one of the best seasons of his career this year.”
“Most of the games we’ve played this year have been competing for the number one spot (in the Eastern Conference), and it’s not only top 2 or top 3 in scoring, it also impacts our team in every win we get.”
James Harden, star guard of the Philadelphia 76ers to the ESPN network.
Certainly, the Cameroonian is one of the strongest candidates to take the Most Valuable Player award this year, with averages of 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks with eras of 48.8% from the field and 35.8% in triples through 59 games in the 2021-2022 season. The Sixers are tied with the Boston Celtics for third place in the Eastern Conference with a 45-27 record.
His main competitor so far is Serbian Nikola Jokic (current MVP), who has kept the Denver Nuggets in sixth place in the Western Conference despite not having his co-stars Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. so far this season. The 27-year-old center is averaging 26.2 points, 13.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.4 steals along with 57.3 percent effectiveness from the field and 34.7 percent from distance in 67 games.
On the other hand, the current champion and two-time winner of the honor, Giannis Antetokounmpo, would be the third candidate to win the award (29.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks with an ERA of 55% from the field and 30.2% in triples in 60 games), everything will depend on how the positions in the table finish and the performances of all the aforementioned players.
Does Joel Embiid deserve the MVP award as much as James Harden puts it?
