Los Angeles Lakers guard Wayne Ellington left little doubt who he believes should be this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player, selecting Joel Embiid.
Joel Embiid… MVP!
— Wayne Ellington (@WayneEllington) April 21, 2022
In his role as the starting center for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, Embiid has put up outstanding numbers and led the Sixers to a 51-31 record during the regular season. That mark was good enough to finish in a three-way tie for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
In his 68 games during the regular season, Embiid was an all-around force for the 76ers, averaging 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest.
Numbers like that would typically make a player the clear favorite for the award. However, the Philadelphia big man has strong competition from players such as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is a two-time league MVP.
Embiid was drafted third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, but he sat out his first two seasons due to injury. In the six seasons that he’s been on the court since then, he’s consistently shown why he was rated so highly when he came out of the University of Kansas.
In contrast, Ellington’s time in the NBA hasn’t been a stable one, as he’s played for nine different teams since entering the league back in 2009.
That lengthy span of time facing the best the NBA has to offer has given him some insight into what separates the top players from the rest of the league.
Ellington would surely prefer to be on the court with the Lakers in the postseason right now. However, he’ll have to settle for watching the 2022 NBA Playoffs from the comfort of his home.
