Joel Embiid is probably the unluckiest superstar in recent history. But this year his luck is looking up. The Sixers are currently the 3rd seed in the East and one of the hottest teams in the league. And that success is largely because of their superstar center. The past two years Embiid’s been the runner-up for MVP losing out to Nikola Jokic in both seasons. While Jokic is too many people the front runner this year too, I believe Joel Embiid will finally win MVP this year.

Joel Embiid has been dominant all year for Philadelphia. The Process is averaging 33 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game, and doing that on 53% field goal and 35% from 3. Not to mention being a defensive anchor for Philly. That’s something that not even players like Shaq have done. But people would say Jokic is outplaying him. The Joker is averaging 24 points per game, 11 rebounds per game, 10 assists per game, and on absurd field goal percentages of 63 overall and 40 from the 3. Averaging a triple double is an absurd feat and doing that at the efficiency he’s doing it on is historic. So most people believe that Jokic will win his 3rd MVP in a row, joining very exclusive company. But what happened to Embiid last year is happening to Jokic this year. Embiid was the front runner for most of the year but then slipped at the end and Jokic won.

This year Jokic was the front runner for most of the year but Embiid is slowly overtaking him. A reason why Embiid lost the award last year was that he lost key matchups last season. He lost to Jokic’s Nuggets and Antetokounmpo’s Bucks. Both of those players were contenders for MVP and their wins against Embiid greatly helped their MVP case. But this year Embiid dominated Jokic and is 2-1 against the Bucks. All those wins were comebacks led by Embiid himself. The Sixers also slightly fell off late last year. But this year the Sixers are one of the hottest teams in the league late in the year and the Nuggets seem to be slipping. In their last ten, the Nuggets are 5-5 with ugly losses to the Spurs and Raptors, while the Sixers are 7-3 with great wins against the Cavs and Bucks. The Sixers actually have overtaken the Nuggets’ record as of now.

Vegas also sees the trend happening as well. Currently, Embiid has the best odds to win MVP overtaking Jokic who’s had the best odds for most of the year. Everything is pointing towards the big man in Philly winning the MVP, and he really deserves it. He’s given his all for his team and he’s improved on everything people have wanted him to. When he first came into the league he was ravaged with injuries, immature, and had slight weight issues. Now he’s way less injury prone, matured into a leader for the Sixers, and has worked on his body. People wanted him to settle less and be more aggressive. He’s done that. Embiid has achieved his potential that people saw him in his rookie year. The cherry on top would be finally taking home that MVP award and bringing a championship to Philadelphia.