Joel Embiid's MVP Odds Crater Amidst Knee Injury
By Reed Wallach
Joel Embiid's nearly ineligible to win the NBA MVP for the second straight season.
While Embiid suited up and played despite a knee injury on Tuesday, the reigning Most Valuable Player left early with further damage done to his already injured knee. The Philadelphia 76ers star has already missed 12 games with an injury despite looking like the clear MVP front runner, if he misses five more he will be disqualified from the running.
Nick Nurse says that the injury that forced Embiid to leave the game in the fourth quarter was unrelated to the injury that has held him out recently. Embiid will get an MRI.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) January 31, 2024
Joel Embiid is out tonight vs. the Trail Blazers, @ramonashelburne reports. He can only miss five more games to be eligible for MVP. More from NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/e9qiMYyFIB
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) January 29, 2024
With Embiid possibly set to be on the shelf for possibly more time and out of a cushion to miss games, the award is seemingly out of the picture for the dominant big man. With that, his odds have cratered.
Nobody is denying that Embiid is more than capable of winning the award, leading the league in scoring with over 35 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, but he may not play enough games to qualify.
Embiid's odds sit at +1500, behind Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the odds board.
Here's the full odds update:
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2024 NBA MVP Odds
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.