Joel Embiid is running away with another NBA MVP award, according ESPN’s first straw poll

Joel Embiid was sensational again on Wednesday, dominating against the Minnesota Timberwolves’ NBA-best scoring defense with a 51-point, 12-rebound performance. After breaking through to win MVP in 2022-23, Embiid has been even better so far this season.

He averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in his MVP-winning season, and so far this season he’s averaging 35.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. It’s a small sample size, but Embiid is already making his case for a second consecutive MVP.

“My brother was just texting me like, ‘I ain’t ever seen nothing like it.’ He’s unstoppable, man,” Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said about Embiid after the Sixers’ win. “I don’t see how they lose a game, honestly.”

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But it’s not just the Sixers’ opponents who are noticing Embiid’s greatness. In ESPN’s first straw poll, Embiid was the top vote-getter for MVP, well ahead of second-place Nikola Jokić, who was runner-up last year after besting Embiid in each of the two previous seasons.

The poll is designed to closely mimic the actual MVP voting pool, with multiple voters from each of the NBA’s 28 markets and an assortment of national and international reporters to round out the 100-voter pool. Embiid received 63 first-place votes and all but one had him on their ballot.

However, over the last three years, the top vote-getter in the first poll hasn’t won the actual MVP award. Jayson Tatum, the top vote-getter in the first poll in 2022, finished fourth.

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Embiid’s individual success — alongside the growth of Tyrese Maxey — has helped the team find success in the early part of the season, and Embiid and the Sixers are hoping it’ll translate into a deep playoff run. But he’s also taking the time to enjoy the individual accolades.

“I have a pretty good chance [at another MVP],” Embiid told ESPN. “I mean, if I have a chance to be in the conversation, why not? I want it all. I’m not shy about it. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, I don’t care about this.’ Anything that I can get my hands on, I want it.”

Currently, the oddsmakers at FanDuel also have Embiid as the favorite to win the award at +175, ahead of Jokić (+300) and Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Dončić (+600).