Joel Embiid: At This Point, MVP Is Whatever

Joel Embiid congratulated Nikola Jokic for winning MVP and expounded on his feelings on the award.

“No,” Embiid said, when asked if he was surprised when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Jokic would again win the award. “I mean, this is something that I knew weeks ago, even probably two weeks before the season ended, after those games against whether it was Denver and Milwaukee, and when [ESPN did its] straw poll or whatever. I just knew it wasn’t gonna happen.

“Obviously, congrats to Nikola. He deserved it. He had an amazing season. There’s no right or wrong. There was a lot of candidates. 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 is all about whatever you guys decide, whatever fits the narrative as far as who’s gonna win.”

Embiid also finished second last season.

“I’m not mad,” Embiid said. “That’s two years in a row I put myself in that position. It didn’t happen. It is almost like, at this point, it is whatever. Whatever happens, happens.

“Last year, I campaigned about it. This year, I answered questions when I was asked, and in the next few years until I retire, it’s almost like … like I said, I wonder what else I have to do to win it, and to me, it’s like, at this point it’s like, it’s whatever. It’s all about focusing, not that I wasn’t focused on the bigger picture, but you know, it’s really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture, which is to win the whole thing.”