Sixers’ Doc Rivers says Joel Embiid “should be the MVP”

Doc Rivers gave a ringing endorsement for Joel Embiid after he led the 76ers to a 144-114 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.

“Listen, I don’t get on this, but I really believe he should be the MVP,” the coach said.

Embiid, Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić are the three main candidates for the award.

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For a while, Embiid was considered the frontrunner.

But Jokić, last season’s MVP, has supplanted him as the frontrunner in the eyes of some after recording his 19th triple-double of the season in Monday’s victory over the Hornets. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo is receiving a lot of hype after posting 40- and 44-point performances in his last two outings.

Embiid, Antetokoumpo, and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James are battling for the scoring title.

James averages a league-best 30.26 points with five games left. Antetokoumpo is second at 30.11 points, while Embiid is third at 29.98.

On Saturday, Embiid finished with game highs of 29 points and 14 rebounds to go with six assists in just 31 minutes, 21 seconds of action. With the Sixers up 23 points, the five-time All-Star center sat out the fourth quarter.

“Tonight, before the game, I said, “‘Hey, man. Just keep playing,’” Rivers said. “And he said, ‘Coach, I just want to win. I’m going to let it come to me.’

“I almost wanted to tell him to try to get 50 or whatever to win the scoring title. He said, ‘Only if it comes to me. That’s the only way I want to win anything.’ So I thought that was a really cool answer. It also just shows where he’s at as a player.”

Rivers was asked if Embiid and James Harden would play in Sunday’s road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s because Harden has yet to play on back-to-back game nights as a Sixers due to recovery from left hamstring tightness. Embiid also missed the tail end of a back-to-back when the Sixers faced the Miami Heat on March 21.

“I hope so,” Rivers responded about their availability. “Yeah, I think right now … Honestly, I haven’t even asked. But right now, I think we are planning on playing. But I don’t know the answer.”

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Following Saturday’s game, Embiid revealed a wound on his right shooting hand. The star was asked how he hurt it and if it would keep him out of Sunday’s matchup against the Cavs (43-35).

“This has been going on for the past two months, really,” he said. “So like I always say, I got to keep pushing.”

So what exactly is it?

“It’s a cut that obviously won’t close because of all the dunks and caught passes, it always opens up,” he said before joking. “Pretty painful. But I’m African. We don’t feel pain. So it’s pretty [good].”