Joel Embid Win MVP Over Nikola Jokic ? Already

Embid has extremely small edge on Jokic in MVP straw poll originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Jason Kid and Grant Hill shared the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 1995.

Before his team faced the Sixers on Wednesday night, the Mavs’ head coach had something similar in mind when asked how he'd compare Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic.

“Both very talented,” he began. “Could they tie for MVP? Let’s see if we can get that done.”

In ESPN’s Tim Bontemps’ final straw poll, Embiid and Jokic are incredibly close to a tie. Embiid has 790 total points, Jokic 788.

Though the Nuggets superstar got a league-best 42 first-place votes, Embiid’s 40 first-place votes, 45 second-place votes and 15 third-place votes were just enough to edge Jokic out.

Giannis Antetokounmpo came in third with 612 total points. Embiid’s Sixers are set to play the Bucks on Sunday night in Milwaukee.

Embiid, Jokic and Antetokounmpo were the only three players to receive first-place votes. Jayson Tatum finished fourth in the straw poll, Luka Doncic fifth.

Last season, Embiid was second to Jokic in the MVP race for a second straight year with 706 total points to Jokic’s 875. Antetokounmpo was third.

With six regular-season games left for the 50-26 Sixers, Embiid has played in 62 contests and averaged a league-leading 33.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks.

The six-time All-Star will end the year 1-0 against Jokic. Embiid was fantastic in a Jan. 28 win over the Nuggets, scoring 47 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. He missed the Sixers’ loss Monday in Denver because of right calf tightness.

“I don’t care,” Embiid said Wednesday of the notion that sitting out that matchup could hurt his MVP chances. “It’s all about the playoffs. If one game is going to hurt anybody’s chances, I guess everybody should be out of it. We all have bad games. Guys miss matchups; that’s not the first time. And it’s not really a matchup about me and Nikola.

“He’s a great player — amazing player. … Back-to-back MVPs. He’s one of the best players in the league and I’m a huge fan. So not playing against him was a huge bummer, but there’s a bigger goal in sight, and that’s to make sure we’re healthy for the playoffs.

“Like I said, I’ve got nothing to prove. The last matchup we won and I had whatever (stats) I had. To go out there and say I’m scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid. But I don’t care if I win it or not. I’m just focused on trying to win a championship and whatever happens, happens. If I win, great. if I don’t win anything, I don’t care.”