The Philadelphia 76ers had an impressive run this season, but the outcome was the same as in recent seasons.
That will take a big toll on Joel Embiid’s reputation, as he left a lot to be desired in the postseason after such a remarkable regular season.
As a matter of fact, SportsCenter reports that Embiid had the biggest drop-off in points per game (-9.4) of any MVP in league history, going from 33.1 PPG in the regular season to 23.7 PPG in the playoffs.
Embiid’s PPG took a dip during the postseason 😳
(via @ESPNStatsInfo) pic.twitter.com/rZXGItJenS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2023
To be fair, Embiid didn’t need to do a lot for the Sixers to take care of the lesser Brooklyn Nets in the first round, and he was hurt to begin in the series vs. the Boston Celtics.
But he was coming off an MVP season and being the league’s leading scorer, so one would still expect more from him.
Likewise, Embiid has now become the only MVP in league history that has failed to reach the Conference Finals at least once in his career, although it’s not like he’s going to retire any time soon, so he will have more opportunities to put an end to his team’s drought.
Embiid’s MVP was questionable to some, as Nikola Jokic had better numbers than him in nearly all major and advanced stats.
His numbers were most definitely MVP-worthy as well; just not as impressive as Jokic’s.
However, it’s going to be tough to come back from this after all the controversy and narratives around the award and who should’ve taken it home this season.
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