Colin Cowherd: “It did feel like it was as much about an ‘anti-Jokic’ vote as it was a ‘pro-Embiid’ vote. Jokic is off-brand. He’s not vertical, or flashy. He’s not ‘fun’, or fashionable. He’s not on IG. He felt completely out of place at the All-Star Game, it was embarrassing. Embiid IS the NBA brand. Big personality, funny, big game, dunks, up and down the floor, he’s a fun watch. The league and the voters did not want to give dull and efficient Jokic the third-straight MVP. MJ didn’t get one, neither did LeBron. It’s not that Embiid won, it was a landslide, 73 votes to 15. Wait a minute, I was lectured for years about the ‘triple-double’, and that’s why Westbrook won, and how ‘valuable’ the triple-double was. If it was so big why don’t we talk about Oscar Robertson? If it’s so great then why isn’t Westbrook a winning player? Well, that’s Jokic’s thing, he basically averages a triple-double. Apparently it doesn’t matter anymore, hmmm. I have been told by the experts ‘analytics are everything!’, I have scoffed at that. Well, Jokic has better analytics. PER, Win Shares, all those things I’ve been told are ‘so valuable’, and that I’ve rolled my eyes at. For the record, triple-doubles don’t mean much anymore, and analytics are only part of the story. OK, I’ve said that for years. This was not just a vote for Embiid, it was a vote against Jokic. Jokic was part of a no. 1 seed, he played more games, more rebounds, better analytically, the triple-double, and the vote was 73-15? I’m not outraged by it and it’s fine, but NBA voters vote on stories, who they like, and what’s the better narrative. In that case it’s Embiid. He’s more fun, he’s more on-brand. He’s a joker, he’s a fun, active player who can do so many things. Be careful all of you politicos on what you lecture us on. ‘TRIPLE-DOUBLES ARE EVERYTHING!’ Apparently not. ‘ANALYTICS ARE SO VALUABLE!’ Apparently not. It’s as if Jokic didn’t play more games, and all the stuff I was told was so important didn’t stack up—but it did, and more. This vote felt just as much anti-Jokic as pro-Embiid.” (Full Segment Above)
Watch Colin Cowherd explain why the 2022-2023 NBA MVP race turned out to be an ‘Anti-Nikola Jokic’ crusade more than it was rewarding Joel Embiid.
Check out the segment above as Colin details why Jokic lost interest with the MVP voters despite better metrics across the board than Embiid.
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