(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
On Monday night, 18 years after Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant dropped a career-high 81 points on the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers put on a show of his own for the hometown crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.
Even though Embiid had to go up against rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, the veteran center and reigning NBA MVP was a man-possessed on Monday night on his home floor, as he dropped a career-best 70 points on the San Antonio Spurs en route to a 10-point win for Philadelphia.
Embiid was virtually unstoppable against the Spurs, as he went 24-for-41 from the floor, hit one of the two three-pointers he attempted, and was near-perfect at the charity stripe, connecting on 21 of his 23 attempts from the free-throw line.
Along with efficiently scoring 70 points, he also grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out five assists before being pulled by Nick Nurse and his coaching staff.
With this being another stellar performance from Embiid, he’s making a strong case once again to win MVP, but he’s coming dangerously close to being eliminated due to games played, which is a new requirement for the regular-season award, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic via Run It Back.
“If [Joel Embiid] misses eight more games this season, he could be eliminated from winning the MVP award,” Charania said.
“If [Joel Embiid] misses eight more games this season, he could be eliminated from winning the MVP award.”@ShamsCharania on Joel Embiid and the Sixers. pic.twitter.com/63ODU7y6w7
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 23, 2024
The new NBA rule to qualify for one of the regular-season awards is that a player must play in at least 65 games of the 82 regular-season games.
With 39 regular-season games left to be played for the 76ers, Embiid could have a tough time staying on the floor, which would be unfortunate if he does come short of the requirement for games played, considering the season he’s having in Philadelphia.
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