Joel Embiid faces Nikola Jokić in MVP showdown Monday, but Sixers center’s focus is on the long haul

Embiid considers his toughest competition to be his own potential, and his internal mission to fulfill that potential is what drives him.

Sixers center Joel Embiid shoots against the Denver Nuggets in January.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published March 27, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

PHOENIX — Joel Embiid is prideful, competitive, and determined to be the NBA’s best player.

“And I think I’m the best,” the 76ers center said. “But then again, I also believe I have a long way to go even though I think I’m up there.”

So while people want to compare him to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić among others, Embiid thinks of his competition as internal.

“It’s all really a fight with myself because of how much better I want to get every single day...,” he said. “So to me, I’m always focused on myself.”

While he may take that approach, the NBA world is focused on an expected head-to-head battle against Jokić in the Sixers’ Monday night game against the Nuggets at Ball Arena.

Embiid said following Saturday night’s 125-105 loss at the Phoenix Suns that his playing status will be determined by how his body feels after Sunday’s off day. The six-time All-Star, who is dealing with right calf tightness, was sluggish and tired despite finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in 32 minutes, 16 seconds.

On Sunday evening, Embiid and teammates James Harden and Danuel House Jr. were officially listed as questionable for Monday’s game.

But the expected head-to-head matchup could factor into the MVP race.

Jokić was voted league MVP the previous two seasons with Embiid finishing as runner-up. This season, he’s the MVP frontrunner ahead of Jokić and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Embiid dominated Jokić in the teams’ first meeting, a 126-119 Sixers’ victory on Jan. 28 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder finished with 47 points, 18 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks while Jokić had 24 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Embiid abused him on isolation plays, drawing MVP chants from the home crowd.

But …

“These types of matchups, whether it’s against Giannis, whether it’s against him, it’s cool and all,” Embiid said, “but at the end of the day, it’s always about Milwaukee against Philly or Denver against Philly. [Individual matchups] is not where the focus should be. The focus is on making sure everything is running right for later on [during the playoffs].”

Embiid, however, can’t deny that he and Jokić have helped to bring the center position back into prominence.

Jokić is averaging 24.9 points on a career-high 63.3% shooting, along with a league second-best 11.8 rebounds and fourth-best 9.9 assists. The 6-11 center has led the Nuggets to the Western Conference’s best record of 50-24. And he’s listed among the leaders in several major advanced metrics.

Meanwhile, Embiid is the league’s most unstoppable player and an elite rim protector.

He’s the NBA scoring leader at 33.3 points per game. Embiid is also ranked seventh (10.2) in rebounds and sixth (1.7) in blocks. And the 29-year-old is shooting a career-best 54.5% from the field to go along with 37 double-doubles.

From a team standpoint, the Sixers (49-25) will look to snap their two-game skid. As of Saturday night, the East’s third-place team was four games behind the first-place Bucks (53-21) and two-and-a-half games behind the second-place Boston Celtics with eight games remaining. The Celtics (52-23) got a little breathing room after a 137-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night.

Harden missed the first three games of the Sixers’ four-game road trip with inflammation and soreness in his left Achilles. Coach Doc Rivers said he hopes Harden plays against the Nuggets to conclude the trip.

“But I really don’t know,” Rivers said. “I was pretty sure he wasn’t playing [in Saturday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns]. But I was pretty sure everybody else would, and you know [House] didn’t play.”

House missed the last two games right shoulder soreness. Jalen McDaniels returned Saturday after missing two games with a bruised right hip.

“As a coach, you just want guys to be healthy, you want them to get healthy,” Rivers said. “You don’t want to coach trying to push guys to play and put any pressure on guys. We got to be healthy when it counts. If that means James doesn’t play Monday, I have no qualms about that.”

The Sixers need Harden back, but for the long haul.

The same for Embiid, who will take one of the upcoming games off to rest and heal. After Monday, the Sixers return home to host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and the Toronto Raptors on Friday before a game in Milwaukee on Sunday.