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oel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers high fives teammate James Harden #1.
The stage has been set for the NBA season as each team prepares for training camp to begin. Expectations are high for many teams around and the Philadelphia 76ers are certainly ones feeling the pressure. The organization has failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs for five consecutive seasons and the championship window is beginning to narrow. However, there is plenty of reason for optimism surrounding the team. James Harden has now had a full offseason to get healthy and more familiar with his teammates while Joel Embiid remains in the prime of his career. Tyrese Maxey has also taken notable strides forward and emerged as the team’s third star.
A recent article by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report pointed to these reasons for optimism in his bold predictions for the upcoming season. In addition to some team success, he expects the Sixers to be active in the end-of-year awards. The article predicted Embiid to finally win his MVP Award and for Harden to find himself back onto an All-NBA team.
Joel Embiid Wins MVP
It is no secret how close Joel Embiid has been to this prestigious award. The Kansas product has been the runner-up in back-to-back seasons and has voiced his frustrations about how the qualifications for the award seem to change. The Sixers superstar was the frontrunner for the award for the majority of last season but Nikola Jokic swooped in to win it for the second consecutive year.