(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is undoubtedly one of the best NBA players alive and he has a very good chance of winning back-to-back MVP trophies.
But are people discounting just how special he is because he hasn’t earned a championship ring yet?
That is what JJ Redick proposed during a conversation with Tim Legler on “The Old Man & The Three.”
Redick said that many people aren’t giving Embiid enough credit and are simply saying: “Until he wins [the Finals], I don’t want to hear it.”
.@jj_redick and @LegsESPN discuss the conversation around Joel Embiid and if the Sixers need a ring to validate his greatness this season.
Watch the full episode: https://t.co/EF3GCalHQN pic.twitter.com/YgAe2tmHRw
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) December 29, 2023
Legler wholeheartedly agreed and said that Embiid is playing the best he ever has but people aren’t seeing that because, to them, the only thing that really matters is winning a Finals.
Redick said the same conversation revolved around both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
But both other those players eventually won championships, of course.
It seems like Embiid actually agrees with this sentiment because he only truly cares about winning the Finals.
He has repeatedly said that that is his main, and only, goal.
However, this year may prove harder than others before.
The Sixers are currently the third-best team in the East, behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
Although the Sixers made it further than the Bucks in the postseason last year, they couldn’t make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, like the Celtics did.
Even if Embiid wins MVP and leads the league in points, some people will still say that doesn’t compare to winning a championship.
While that is not entirely fair, it’s simply the way that NBA fans work.
There is only one definitive way for Embiid to wow the people who don’t see his level of greatness.
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