Sixers big man Joel Embiid played in more than double the games he did in 2017 last season (63, 31), and the team is hoping they can get close to a full campaign from him in 2018.
Embiid has set the bar high for the year, too, as he not only wants to continue to dominate in the paint — thus making a strong case to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award — but he also wants to win MVP.
“I don’t think it matters, big free agent or not. My goal going into the offseason was to get better. I want to win the MVP,” Embiid said Wednesday, via Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. “I feel like at the end of the day it might be an individual award, but when I play better, the team also does. I feel like if I’m an MVP candidate or if I win the MVP, that means we are on another level.”
Embiid also commented on the LeBron James sweepstakes, as it related to the Sixers’ pursuit of the superstar forward.
“I thought we had a chance,” Embiid said of possibly landing Leonard or James. “I’m a player. I always felt like it’s not my job to be in the middle of all that. I don’t like to be involved in front-office stuff. I always felt like [LeBron] didn’t need my help if he was going to do it. It is whatever. We have a great group of guys.”
It’s great to see that Embiid has set the bar high. We’ll just have to see what the future brings.
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