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Joel Embiid has been playing at an MVP level throughout the first half of the 2023-24 NBA season. His 36 points per game average is the highest in the league, and he’s adding 11.4 rebounds and nearly 6 assists to go with his outstanding scoring numbers. To help his case for winning the award for the second year in a row, his Philadelphia 76ers are one of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference.
NBA Odds: Missed Games Becoming A Factor In MVP Race
Sixers star Joel Embiid (left knee) will be listed as a questionable vs. Warriors tonight, source tells ESPN. He’s expected to go through pregame warmup and decide if he can play.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 30, 2024
But there is a factor hurting his chances at defending his title.
The NBA implemented a rule at the start of this season, which was aimed at eliminating load management. In order for players to be eligible for post-season awards like MVP, 6th Man of the Year, or All-NBA honors, they must play in a total of 65 games on the year, giving them the leeway to miss 17 contests for injury purposes.
Embiid is getting close to that number. After playing in 25 of his team’s first 28 games, he missed seven of the next nine due to an ankle issue. He would come back to play in six more, but has now missed the last two contests on the 76ers schedule thanks to a knee injury.
That gives Embiid 12 missed games in his team’s first 45, and only has a few to spare during the tail end of the regular season schedule. He can sit out only four more times this year, and is already listed as questionable for Tuesday’s contest against the Warriors.
Jokić Is Now The Odds-On Leader
Joel Embiid missed his 12th game last night.
Embiid can now only miss 5 more games to remain eligible for NBA MVP.
Embiid was a +120 favorite last week.
Now +450 to win MVP. pic.twitter.com/BPs0Q1q0M0
— John Ewing (@johnewing) January 30, 2024
His odds of winning the NBA MVP award have taken a serious hit. After spending much of the last month and a half as the odds-on leader, his designation at BetOnline has dropped all the way down to +600, and now has two other players in front of him.
Nikola Jokić, the winner of the regular season MVP award the two years prior to Embiid winning last year, is now the favorite at -110. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has pulled into the second slot, coming in at +275.
Embiid is just ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has a designation of +650.
After they take on the Warriors on Monday night, Philadelphia will continue their road trip by taking on the Utah Jazz before flying home after a week on the move.
