Joel Embiid doesn’t seem to have a reputation as someone who isn’t liked by the media.
His personality makes him one of the most quotable players in the league.
I think there have been specific reasons why he hasn’t won the MVP that has nothing to do with him specifically, but thanks to all the whining and hints of subtle racism by people like Kendrick Perkins, he will likely win it this year.
You could make solid cases for Giannis and Jokic, but no one wants to be called a racist on ESPN, so they will vote for Embiid to calm down the alleged narrative.
Here is Embiid speaking to the Athletic about being the Bad Guy.
People always thought that I was crazy when I said this — I really believe that I’m not well-liked. And it’s cool with me, that’s fine. I’ll be the bad guy. I like being the a–hole anyway. I like being the underdog. So that’s fine with me. My thing is, when I leave the game of basketball, I want to make sure that people looked at me as … it’s hard to be the greatest ever because you’ve got to win a bunch of championships and not everyone is lucky to do it because only one team can win and you have to have the right pieces around you … but when I leave the game, I want to make sure that they say: No one was stopping him offensively and defensively, and he was a monster.
All I care about is the pressure that I put on myself to win. People have been talking about who has the most pressure to win. People want to mention me. I’m not at the top of that list. I’m not a two-time MVP, I’ve never made first team All-NBA, I’ve never won anything. So why is there pressure on me to do something when there are guys that have won two MVPs, a bunch of MVPs and haven’t done anything either?
Do you agree with Embiid?
