The fight for the MVP title is particularly fierce this season. Very smart the one who can say who will succeed Nikola Jokic in some months. Mid-season, Jokic himself, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and Joel Embiid all have still legitimate claims. Suddenly, everyone goes their own way to defend their foal or the one they think is the most deserving.
In the midst of his predictions, Charles Barkley clearly leans for one of the candidates at the moment. He explained it Thursday on the program Inside the NBA on TNT.
“Joel Embiid is my favorite for MVP today. A month ago Stephen Curry was in the same position. But if you watch the NBA lately, no one plays better basketball in the world than Joel Embiid.” .
To which Shaq replied:
“He’s in the top 3 but he’s not number 1”.
In 2020, Barkley had been rather critical of Embiid, which shows that he is able to change his thinking about a player.
“Joel Embiid hates me because I said he was lazy. I just said, ‘man you gotta be in good shape to play basketball’. They don’t train him enough. say ‘oh he has bad legs, that’s okay.’ That’s not how he’s going to progress. He has to work and improve physically. You have to put him in a pool or something. kind.
But he’s a great kid, I just wanted to get the message across to him, ‘Dude, you gotta get in shape to play this sport’. And no matter what his reaction, I’ll do my job. “
In any case, the Cameroonian’s rating has risen in recent weeks, thanks to the good results of the Sixers and his excellent statistics. After a very sluggish start, Philadelphia is back in the top 5 in the East, just four victories for the Chicago Bulls.
Embiid, for his part, is running over 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on average, with a January at 31 points per game.
LeBron James, his cash answer on the MVP trophy
