(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Last season was basically a two-man race for the NBA MVP from start to finish, with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic trying to win his third straight award and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers attempting to win his first.
Although these two superstars bounced back and forth all season long, with debates raging on a daily basis about who was the MVP, Embiid came out on top in the end.
However, in the latter part of the season, when the MVP debate was really heating up, Embiid rested on a night in which he was going to go head-to-head with Jokic, which caused quite a stir and it appeared he was avoiding the matchup as the outcome might have MVP implications.
On NBA Today, former NBA player Richard Jefferson had an interesting take on Embiid and whether he was ducking Jokic, via ClutchPoints.
“Joel, I do not think that you are ducking Jokic… But from this point on I will be saying that you are ducking Jokic until you guys play.”
Richard Jefferson diagnoses Joel Embiid with the “Serbian Flu” and says he’s ducking Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/UrLEuxRLA5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 17, 2023
As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon pointed out, Embiid hasn’t played in Denver against the Nuggets since 2019, which they jokingly called the “Serbian Flu.”
That’s a pretty telling stat, especially when people have accused Embiid of never really being in shape and in the condition to take the 76ers the distance in the NBA playoffs.
Along with all of this, the 76ers are in a difficult position right now, with James Harden making some noise earlier this week and Embiid wiping his social media accounts of any team affiliation.
Harden has let it be known that he wants out of Philadelphia, but Embiid could be next, as he may have had enough of the franchise.
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