Joel Embiid's Injury Could Ironically Prove His MVP Credentials

While most valuable player can sound like a simple title, things can be a bit divided when you get down to brass tacks.

Some believe the MVP is simply the player who posts the best stat. Scoring points, after all, is pretty valuable to a team trying to win games. Others try to incorporate "value" in terms of overall performance, ruling players on bad teams out of the running. If the team missed the playoffs by a mile, how important were you?

But, in the world of basketball, two things stand tall as widely accepted truths. Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is rather important to his team's success, and he won't be this season's NBA MVP.

Those two stances seem incongruous. How can someone be so valuable and find himself completely outside of the MVP race? Well, in the current league, that's what happens when a star suffers a long-term injury.

Embiid Injury: Surgery Looms for the Center

During the 2023-24 NBA season, Embiid's knee has been a lingering problem. While it's mostly been discussed in the context of his NBA eligibility—we'll get further into that shortly—it's now looming a bit larger.

On Sunday night, both Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania reported that the Sixers star was going under the knife for meniscus surgery. It's not currently clear how long he'll spend on the sidelines, but there will obviously be some layoff.

In his tweet, Charania alluded to an "extended period of time." Wojnarowski shared a similar sentiment in his ESPN story, writing, "Embiid is expected to miss an extended period, but a more precise timeline isn't expected until doctors complete the procedure, sources said."

And beyond the fact that surgery will always require some time on the sidelines, the precedent isn't exactly working in Embiid's favor. As Wojnarowski noted, the big man had meniscus surgery during the 2016-17 season, which cost him 37 games.

Will we see the center again this campaign? While no one knows the answer right now, it's safe to assume we won't see him sprinting back onto the court after a couple of games' absence.

Embiid's MVP Eligibility Looks Done

While we don't know how long the 76ers star big man will spend on the sidelines recovering from the surgery, it is safe to assume that this will end his race for the MVP title.

To be clear, that's not due to statistical failings. The center is averaging more than 35 points and 11 rebounds per game this season and is at the heart of everything his team does. The league's new collective bargaining agreement placed eligibility requirements on the major individual awards.

Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the fine print, players need to play 65 games to remain in the MVP race. You can also remain eligible if you "(A) played in at least sixty-two regular season games, (B) suffered a 'season-ending injury' and (C) played in at least eighty-five percent of regular season games played by his team prior to suffering such injury." But that's not much solace for Embiid.

As of now, the big man has played in 34 games. He's missed 14 contests as of Monday, and that gives him only a three-game buffer in his push for 65 meaningful appearances. Even if everything goes as smoothly as possible, an extended layoff suggests that Embiid will miss those games.

But the irony of the entire situation is that Embiid's absence, which will make him ineligible for MVP honors, will also highlight just how valuable he truly is. The 76ers are 4-10 without their main man in the middle, and it's reasonable to wonder how they'll fare during a longer-term absence. Falling out of the postseason is unlikely—Philly is 30-18 and somewhere around 40 wins is often enough to qualify for the Play-In Tournament—but that's not exactly worthy of a parade.

Maybe Philadelphia's slump will continue in the coming weeks, with Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris unable to pick up the scoring slack. Perhaps the club slides down the standings but everything goes well medically and Embiid returns to lead a late-season charge.

Either of those outcomes would underscore just how valuable the big man is, even if they arrive at the cost of the actual award.

At the risk of sounding unduly philosophical about professional sports, are you the most valuable player even if the award says someone else holds the crown? Depending on how things unfold, Joel Embiid might find out.