Doris Burke is one of the most respected basketball personalities on the planet. Fans know her, love her and can’t get enough of her takes.
It was more of the same this week.
On Sunday, in the midst of the Philadelphia 76ers laying a 125-106 smackdown on the New York Knicks, Burke was asked point blank about her pick for the NBA MVP this year.
She didn’t even hesitate: Joel Embiid.
It’s tough to argue with Burke’s assessment here. Embiid has been an absolute monster this year.
On Sunday, against New York, he finished with 37 points and nine boards. It marked the fourth straight game where he scored more than 30 points and the fifth time in the last six outings that he broke that threshold.
For the year, Embiid is averaging a career-best 29.8 points per game, as well as 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per affair.
The Sixers are currently 37-23 and sit third in the East Given how good they’ve looked ever since the James Harden acquisition (even though he wasn’t Embiid’s first choice), and considering they’re only 2.5 games back of the first-place Miami Heat, it’s very possible they’ll end up the best team in the conference by season’s end.
Obviously Nikola Jokic is having a nice statistical year, Giannis Antetokounmpo is as steady as ever and DeMar DeRozan has found new life with the Chicago Bulls – but it’s hard to dispute that Embiid is the NBA MVP frontrunner this year.
Anything can happen over the remainder of the season, but barring something insane unfolding, Burke’s evaluation will likely be proven correct.
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