Will Joel Embiid's missed games cost him the MVP trophy?

The knock on Embiid's MVP candidacy has often been his unavailability. He's had incredible numbers the last three seasons, but missed 21 games in 2020-21, and 14 in 2021-22. That's part of why he finished second to Jokic, who missed zero and eight games those seasons.

In a year where the league and players association both plan to tie awards voting to games played, it might be bad time to miss over a sixth of the season. Jokic has missed eight games, so that's at least six extra games of production for the reigning MVP, no matter how good Embiid's per-game averages might be.

Is there precedent for an MVP to miss this many games? Only one. Bill Walton broke his foot in the 1977-78 season, when his defending champion Portland Trail Blazers were 50-10. They still finished with the league's best record, even though they finished 8-14 without Walton. It's possible the team's struggles without Walton helped his case.

Other than that, the most games an MVP has missed is 11, when Allen Iverson won in 2001. That may not have been held against him as much since second-place Shaquille O'Neal played only three more games.

Of course, one particular MVP voter is going to hold it against Embiid for "ducking that smoke" against Jokic. (Yes, Kendrick Perkins has an MVP vote.)

That's just one voter, but it might be dangerous for Embiid to miss many more games. Even if they're not against his biggest rival.