“Where was all that sympathy for me?” – Joel Embiid points out double standards in the MVP conversation

Joel Embiid believes that the criticism he received during his injury troubles was unfair.

The Philadelphia 76ers star center had consistent injury issues early in his career, missing his first two years with a foot injury and playing only 31 games the following year.

While his talent and ability has never been in doubt, recreating the same kind of dominance has been a problem in the postseason. Philadelphia 76ers’ fans are all too familiar with the phrase “Trust the process” that has been used for Joel Embiid multiple times.

According to Andscape, Embiid hit back at claims that criticism of NBA players has gone too far in recent times:

“A lot has been said, and a lot of people haven’t been happy about how the whole thing has been going on, about how people keep bashing each other and all that stuff. Where was all that (sympathy for me)? People kept bashing me the last two seasons, putting me down. But now other guys are being put down, now it’s an issue.”

Injury-plagued Joel Embiid to finally win NBA MVP?

Joel Embiid has been no less than a phenomenon and has managed to emerge as the clear favorite for the NBA MVP award. This is despite Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets appearing to be the favorites for much of the regular season.

Embiid finished the regular season averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He is shooting at a career-high 57.3% and has 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game as well.

A colossal figure on both ends of the court, Embiid has had consistent injury troubles in the postseason for the Philadelphia 76ers.

In 2018, Joel Embiid suffered an orbital fracture of his left eye that required surgery and caused him to miss eight games. He returned wearing a mask to protect his face and did not miss any more games that postseason. In the 2019 playoffs, he dealt with left knee tendinitis and a stomach virus, but only missed one game.

In the 2020 playoffs, he played through an ankle injury. In the 2021 playoffs, Embiid left a game with a knee injury and was later diagnosed with a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, but returned to play all seven games of the second round. In the 2022 playoffs, he suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb.