Joel Embiid doesn’t mind being “the bad guy.” The Sixers All-Star center said he believes he’s “not well-liked” while discussing the MVP race — adding that he likes “being the a–hole anyway.” Embiid discussed the MVP award when The Athletic’s Shams Charania asked if he agreed with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who said he believes the MVP criteria is ever-changing year-to-year. “The criteria does change,” Embiid said before explaining his case. “If we want to talk about the last three years since I’ve been in the running for it, the first year it was that I didn’t play enough games. “Last year, I came back, I played enough games, I led the league in scoring, and obviously, [Nuggets center] Nikola [Jokic] deserved it and he won it. But then again, he won as a sixth seed in the West. “And then this year, I’m leading the league in scoring, I’m doing all of these things defensively … I should be making an All-Defensive team too.” Embiid, who is out for Monday night’s showdown with Jokic and the Nuggers, went on to denounce analytics as part of the MVP voting criteria. “I don’t care, but every year it’s something,” the Cameroonian player said. “And when you add analytics into it, which don’t make sense. You can talk about analytics all you want. “When you got some guys in the league, the eye test tells you that they’re not good defensively, but analytics tell you they’re the best defenders. That’s when analytics don’t make sense at all. “I don’t make the rules, I don’t choose whatever criteria that they use, so it’s really about whatever people’s preferences are. Embiid — who turned 29 this month — explained why he’s fine with being the underdog. “People always thought that I was crazy when I said this — I really believe that I’m not well-liked,” he said. “And it’s cool with me, that’s fine. I’ll be the bad guy. I like being the a–hole anyway. I like being the underdog. So that’s fine with me. “… My thing is, when I leave the game of
basketball, I want to make sure that people looked at me as … it’s hard to be the greatest ever because you’ve got to win a bunch of championships and not everyone is lucky to do it because only one team can win and you have to have the right pieces around you … but when I leave the game, I want to make sure that they say: No one was stopping him offensively and defensively, and he was a monster. “That’s why I play the game — for the respect. I put in too much work. If you look at the beginning of my career and where I have been taking my game, offensively I’ve become like a guard.” Embiid and Jokic are the two big men in the MVP conversation for the third consecutive season. Last week, the Nuggets star was favored to win three straight
NBA MVP awards, according to Caesars Sportsbook. As of Monday, the MVP odds flipped in Embiid’s favor. There won’t be an MVP showdown between Embiid and Jokic when the Nuggets host the Sixers on Monday night. The Sixers are ruling out Embiid (calf), according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — who reported that Embiid did work out on Monday morning — and it’s a precautionary decision due to the density of the team’s recent schedule. Embiid has been dealing with a calf injury since last Wednesday’s loss in
Chicago. He did not play in the second half of that game, and the Sixers said their star player was dealing with right calf tightness. Embiid played in Philadelphia’s back-to-back losses to the Warriors and Suns over the weekend. The third-seeded Sixers are preserving Embiid for the playoffs, after the All-Star big man sustained multiple injuries during last year’s postseason run. Philadelphia will look to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs for the first time in Embiid’s career.