By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following Game 5 of the best-of-seven series between the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, Joel Embiid went on a long rant describing his opinion on the voting process for the annual NBA MVP award.
Nikola Jokic was reportedly voted to be the 2021-22 MVP ahead of the other two candidates making the final shortlist, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Embiid himself.
“Obviously, congrats to Nikola [Jokic], he deserved it, he had an amazing season. There’s no right or wrong, there were a lot of candidates,” Embiid underlined, “It could have gone either way. Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Devin Booker being on the best team in the league by far, so I guess every year it’s all about whatever you guys decide, whatever fits the narrative as far as who’s going to win.”
“But to me, the only thing I’ll say about these awards is that, until I don’t know how to explain it, I go back to what I heard on a podcast. Bill Simmons basically saying, it sounded like he had a grudge against somebody saying ‘F Jalen Green’. If you’re going to allow these types of people to vote on these awards, that’s not fair,” added the Sixers superstar, “What if Jalen Green was in a position to earn a supermax, or I don’t know, an All-Star appearance? You’ve got someone sounding like that and has a lot of power, he can swat a lot of other media members and you got someone saying that type of stuff, I don’t think it’s fair, I don’t think it’s okay.”
“That’s really the only thing I’ll say about those awards. I’m not mad, the last two years in a row I’ve put myself in that position, and it didn’t happen. It’s almost like at this point, it’s whatever, whatever happens, happens. Last year I campaigned about it, this year I answered questions when I was asked, and the next, you know, a few years before I retire it’s almost like, I don’t know what else I have to do to win it. To me it’s just whatever, it’s all about, not that I wasn’t focusing on the bigger picture, but it’s really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture, which is to win the whole thing.”
Game 6 of the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals will be held in Philadelphia Thursday.
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