“That’s bulls**t” – Joel Embiid FIRES SHOTS at Nikola Jokic for comments about MVP award

Joel Embiid didn’t hold back against Nikola Jokic for saying that he didn’t value the MVP award.

“That’s bulls**t” – Joel Embiid FIRES SHOTS at Nikola Jokic for comments about MVP award

Nikola Jokic in action for the Denver Nuggets.

Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid is making it no secret that he wants to win the MVP award. In a recent interview on Headliners with Rachel Nichols, he made sure he shared his views on the coveted accolade. However, Embiid’s comments also felt like an attack on fellow MVP contender, Denver Nuggets superstar and reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

To summarise, Jokic stated in 2021 that he didn’t really care about winning the MVP Award. This didn’t sit right with Embiid who felt the need to highlight his views on this topic. Embiid said, “You put in so much work, and if you get that recognition, it just validates that you didn’t waste your time.” Embiid then seemingly replied to Jokic’s statements from 2021. He said, “If someone tells you that they don’t care [about the MVP Award] , that’s bullsh**.”

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He explained that when players put in a lot of effort and hard work, receiving recognition in the form of an award validated their dedication to the game. Embiid also expressed skepticism towards players who claimed they didn’t care about the MVP award, stating that he believed such claims were false.

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Embiid also tried to take on his haters directly in an interview with Andscape. He said, “A lot has been said, and a lot of people haven’t been happy about how the whole thing has been going on about how people keep bashing each other and all that stuff.” He then added, “Where was all that [sympathy for me]? People kept bashing me the last two seasons, putting me down. But now other guys are being put down, now it’s an issue”

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History of the feud between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic

Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid seems to be reigniting the competitive flame between him and Nikola Jokic.

In May 2021, before Jokic won the MVP award for the first time, he told ESPN’s The Jump, “I never play basketball to win individual awards. So MVP is just something that the people and media are trying to make a story out of it. So, if it happens, it happens. I don’t play for that. Like I said, as long as we’re winning I’m happy.” 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/acSLb3ZcdU0

He also added, “I never think about [the MVP Award] to be honest. I didn’t come here to want to be MVP of the league.”  

But Embiid is not buying Jokic’s claims about the award. The MVP leaderboard has familiar names with three players, Jokic, Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, steaming clear of the rest of the pack. Who will take the award is still a mystery, but Embiid hopes it’ll be him, while Jokic claims he doesn’t care.

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