NBA MVP race 2023: Should Joel Embiid be penalized for ducking Nikola Jokic?

We've officially entered the final week of the 2022-23 NBA regular season, and that means one final look at the NBA MVP race. Here are the latest odds to win the award courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

NBA MVP odds

Joel Embiid: -215
Nikola Jokic: +200
Giannis Antetokounmpo: +700
Jayson Tatum: +12000

The Philadelphia 76ers big man has once again pulled ahead in the MVP race, but fans are going to have one big question: should Embiid be punished for sitting the matchup last week against the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic? The two-time reigning MVP is dealing with a calf injury himself and has missed three games in a row.

Voters likely won't view Embiid sitting as a “ducking” of Jokic, although the reasoning for why the big man didn't play was questionable. Embiid was eventually going to need a rest day and the center himself admitted it, but he could've pushed to play in that contest. Even if he doesn't say anything publicly, Embiid wants to win MVP and has been making a campaign for it from time to time. You can't do that for a stretch of the season and then sit out the final statement game.

If the Sixers wanted Embiid to get some rest, they could've sat him on the second part of the back-to-back they played that Friday and Saturday. Jokic has been sitting games with a calf injury, so the amount of games played might actually be closer than people think. The race is between the two big men once again, and only time will tell if voters hold Embiid's missed game last week against him.

  
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