Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid duked it out against this year’s Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner in Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert on Wednesday and dominated his matchup en route to his team’s 131-123 overtime victory. The Process is among the frontrunners for this year’s MVP Award, and his stock could be on the rise after demolishing the team with the best record in the NBA.
Embiid (+275) entered Wednesday with the second-best MVP odds and rattled off 40 points in 40 minutes against the Jazz. He also grabbed 19 boards to go along with 3 assists and a pair of blocks in an impressive, all-around performance. LeBron James (+175) is the odds-on favorite, while Nikola Jokic (+450) has the third-best odds, and the field is wide open. If Embiid keeps up his current pace after the All-Star break and the Sixers keep winning, he could become the favorite soon.
Jokic and Nikola Vucevic are the only centers that have tallied more fantasy points than Embiid this season. He’s had some of his usual injury struggles but remains one of the most dynamic players in the league when healthy.