After securing the MVP award last season, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is once again front and center in the discussion. However, changes to the NBA rulebook could impact his chances of taking home the hardware for a second straight season.
In an effort to cut down on load management, the NBA changed aspects of the Player Participation Policy. Among the major differences was the games played threshold. Moving forward, players have to appear in at least 65 games if they want to be considered for seasonal awards like MVP and All-NBA.
Due to battling various injuries during the first half of the season, Embiid has missed some time. On Saturday, the Sixers star was slated to face off against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets for the second and final time this season. However, he ended up being a late scratch after dealing with knee soreness during warm-ups. Following his absence from the lineup, he can now only miss six more games the rest of the season before he becomes ineligible for seasonal accolades.
From a production standpoint, Embiid is the clear frontrunner for MVP again. He is outdoing last season's numbers, posting averages of 36.0 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 5.8 APG. Earlier this month, Embiid added a monumental performance to his already historic scoring season. In a win over the San Antonio Spurs, the All-Star center became the ninth player in history to score 70 or more points in a game.
While Embiid is in the midst of arguably one of the best offensive seasons in NBA history, games played could end up being the thing that costs him a second MVP.
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