The NBA released its latest MVP power rankings amid Joel Embiid’s impending ineligibility for the award. Embiid is set to miss his 15th game of the season on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks due to a knee injury. Fans online were bewildered by the rankings because of some stars being ahead of others.
NBA fans were shocked to see the latest MVP power rankings following Joel Embiid’s surgery.
In the latest Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com, Nikola Jokic is the new player atop the rankings following Embiid’s surgery news. It meant that the reigning MVP would miss more than 15 games this season, making him ineligible to win the award and be named on the All-NBA Teams.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in second, while Embiid dropped to third due to inactivity. Giannis Antetokounmpo remained at No. 4 followed by Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Domantas Sabonis, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to finish the Top 10.
NBA fans were shocked that some of the stars they like are lower than the others. Some were even upset that the rankings were missing stars who deserve to be in the MVP conversation.
One fan wrote:
“Doncic lower than Tatum.”
This fan cannot believe Jalen Brunson is not in the Top 10 despite carrying the New York Knicks to fourth in the current East standings:
“Brunson not being on here is crazy.”
Another fan was baffled at how Domantas Sabonis was not an All-Star, but is seventh in the MVP rankings:
“7th in MVP voting but isn’t an All-Star.”
Here are other reactions to the latest NBA MVP power rankings:
Joel Embiid to be ineligible to win NBA MVP
Joel Embiid will be ineligible to win NBA MVP once he misses his 16th game of the season.
The NBA enforced a new eligibility rule for individual awards and All-NBA Team selections this season. Players are now required to play at least 65 games out of the possible 82 to be eligible for any individual award or All-NBA honors at the end of the campaign.
Joel Embiid was the favorite to win the NBA MVP heading into the season. He immediately showed that he deserved to win the award over Nikola Jokic by having monster performances for consecutive games. He was much better than his MVP season, which is hard to do.
However, Embiid dealt with a hip injury in November, a sprained ankle toward the end of December and a sore left knee last month. He already missed 12 games last week when he returned against the Golden State Warriors. He didn’t look comfortable and was favoring his left knee.
Embiid then suffered a catastrophic injury to that same left knee late in their loss to Golden State when Jonathan Kuminga accidentally fell on it. He has been ruled out for an extended period and will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus later this week.
