As every year since 2016/17, ESPN is used to carrying out several scores during the season to find out the trend of voters for the MVP ahead of May. To do this, 100 journalists who cover 28 of the 30 teams in the league are interviewed.
In mid-December, we remember that it was Jayson Tatum who was leading the first poll and, two months later at the time of the All-Star Break, it was Nikola Jokic who was the favorite of this panel of specialists. For the third and final tally, it’s Joel Embiid who now holds the rope in the American press.
Except that one cannot say that the pivot of Sixers be unanimous, because with his 790 points and 40 first places (out of 100 possible), he would only be ahead of … 2 small points Nikola Jokic, the double MVP in title! A Nikola Jokic who would inherit 42 first places (for 788 points, therefore).
The podium would be completed by Giannis Antetokounmpo (612 points and 18 first places), holder of the best record in the league, while Jayson Tatum (292 points) and Luka Doncic (37 points) would follow in the Top 5.
Suffice to say that the fight promises to be tight until the end between Joel Embiid (33.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.1 steals) and Nikola Jokic (24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 1.2 steals) who , as in 2021 then 2022, will fight to win the most prestigious of individual awards. Ten days from the end of the regular season, it is nevertheless obvious that everything remains to be done in this race for the 2023 MVP and with 6-7 games to play each, Embiid like Jokic still have time to mark the minds of voters…
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 68 | 34 | 49.9 | 37.1 | 81.4 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 30.6 |
| 2022-23 | PHL | 61 | 35 | 54.5 | 34.1 | 85.6 | 1.8 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 33.3 |
| Total | 389 | 32 | 49.9 | 33.8 | 81.9 | 2.2 | 9.0 | 11.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 27.2 | |
