Reasons why Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid deserved to win 2021-22 MVP award

After finishing second last year, many felt Joel Embiid was the frontrunner for the NBA's MVP award this season. He built an ironclad resume this time around, but it was still not enough. On Monday morning, it was reported that Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic secured the award for the second consecutive season.

When the news broke, debates instantly ensued about Embiid being snubbed. There are multiple reasons why he should have taken home MVP, the first being his numbers.

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For the second straight season, Embiid was one of the NBA's most dominant forces. From January on, opposing defenses had no answer to slowing him down. This resulted in Embiid leading the league in scoring, the first center to do so since Shaquille O'Neal over 20 years ago.

When the race came down to Embiid and Jokic last year, missed games proved to be a pivotal factor. In light of this, the 76ers All-Star did everything he could to be a nightly fixture in the lineup. After being labeled as injury-prone for years, Embiid played in a career-high 68 games in the regular season. Unfortunately, it was still not enough to get him over the hump.

Joel Embiid checked all boxes for MVP

Another key portion of the MVP discussion is narrative. When it comes to this area, Joel Embiid was far ahead of the competition.

For the majority of the season, the Sixers found themselves in the middle of one of the most drama-filled sagas in NBA history. While Ben Simmons held out for a trade, the rest of the team had to deal with the repercussions.

Without his All-Star teammate, Embiid took it upon himself to lead the charge. No matter what the team needed, he was there to provide. He even posted a career-high in assists per game (4.2) to help fill the void Simmons left.

Along with adding to his game, Embiid also handled the Simmons situation with grace. Despite the dark cloud hanging over the team, he led the group in a professional manner and kept the focus on winning games. An ugly ordeal like this would have broken most locker rooms, but Embiid did not allow that to happen.

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Because of these factors, no candidate had a better narrative than Embiid. He stepped up as a leader and carried his team to a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference as his running mate sat on the sidelines and demanded a trade.

In the end, there was really no wrong answer when choosing among these finalists. That being said, there is an argument to be made that Embiid was the most deserving among the three for what he endured this season.