Joel Embiid reveals his happiness for not being in “toxic” MVP conversation

Joel Embiid is back in action to boost Sixers’ post-season hopes after recovering from meniscus surgery. The Cameroonian was knocked out of the post-season awards race, especially the MVP award.

Now that Embiid is back and doing what he loves the most, the reigning MVP has opened up about this season’s race for the coveted prize. But his statement came as a shock, as the Sixers ace did not mince his words in the slightest when talking about the conversation surrounding the award.

Joel Embiid explains his feelings on MVP race

Despite his ineligibility to qualify for the 2024 MVP title race, Joel Embiid boldly confessed in a post-game interview on Thursday that he is happy to not be amongst the contenders this season. While sharing his insights on the hottest topic of the hoop world, the Cameroonian center said “I’m happy I’m not in the [MVP] conversation, that conversation has been toxic for a long time”

Mentioning the reason behind such a confession being the toxicity that the topic holds, the reigning MVP winner added, “You know, obviously, all great candidates, they all deserve to win. It’s just unfortunate that only one person has to win.”

Embiid’s appearance in 36 games with the Philly side this season due to a meniscus injury hampered his opportunity to qualify for the prestigious individual award, thanks to the newly imposed 65-game rule of NBA. He came back to the hardwood after being sidelined from late January to face the Oklahoma Thunders and stunned the NBA enthusiasts with his marvelous performance.

Even against the Miami Heat on Thursday, the 7-footer scored 29 points, making it almost impossible to believe that he came back after weeks. The star only wishes to stay healthy and help his team to secure a spot in the post-season tournament.

Talking to the press after the OKC game in a DX inspired t-shirt, Embiid revealed the mental toll from the injury he suffered. But his worries might increase soon enough as the events leading to his participation in the game have drawn some attention from the NBA front office.

NBA reportedly to investigate Joel Embiid injury

Joel Embiid made his highly-anticipated return against OKC on April 2. But something seemed off about his recovery. It usually takes time to recover from a meniscus tear and the Sixers center was not expected to return against the OKC. His status for the match was initially reported as out but that changed to questionable and then Embiid was back on court, raising eyebrows from the NBA.

According to Jared Greenberg of TNT, the NBA is “expected” to investigate the issue. Greenberg also mentioned that he talked to many players around the NBA, and none of them had ever heard of something like this, where a player is declared out but is found on the court within hours.

One of the players who has opened up about the matter is Warriors’ Draymond Green. Expressing his concerns over the length of recovery, the 34-year-old forward raised a question about Sixers’ decision to rush Embiid into action.

As of now, no further development has been reported regarding the situation, but it is a scenario worth keeping an eye on.