NBA Rumors: Sixers’ Joel Embiid Could Be Snubbed From First-Team All-NBA

When Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid realized he wasn’t a member of the First-Team All-NBA list following the 2020 season, he was admittedly extremely frustrated. While he joked that he must’ve left the country when he found out he was left off of all NBA awards lists, Embiid really did take it personally.

He came into the 2020-2021 NBA season with a chip on his shoulder. Knowing he had to be in optimal shape to sustain a high level of play this season, Embiid made significant changes during the offseason.

By the time the regular season started, he had looked better than ever. Throughout the year, Embiid was an MVP candidate from the jump. Although he missed a few games here and there, he was at the top of the NBA’s MVP ladder going into the All-Star break.

But then a knee injury sidelined him for ten-straight games. At that point, it was becoming clear that Embiid’s chances of winning the MVP award were dwindling as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic continued to play at a high level and stayed healthy. 

Although Embiid might not win MVP this year, the big man would still find comfort in earning First-Team All-NBA honors for having a dominant season. But it seems that might be a stretch, too. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently compiled roughly 18 public and disclosed voting ballots for end-of-season awards.

While Embiid certainly won’t be snubbed from any All-NBA teams this year, the results from the few ballots Scotto analyzed show that Embiid isn’t necessarily a lock to land on the First-Team All-NBA list, despite being a possible MVP runner-up.

“Joel Embiid headlines the 2nd Team after the final tally, which is a tough break for a guy who was heavily in the MVP discussion with Jokic as the top two big men this season.”

Embiid won’t get placed on the team at the center position since Jokic likely has that locked up. While Embiid could be entered in as a forward, Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted in on 100-percent of the reviewed ballots as a forward, with Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic taking up 81-percent of the votes for the other forward position.

While it’s not a full sample size of how the voting will go exactly, there has been a lot of discussion going on around the league hinting at the possibility of Embiid falling to second team for quite some time now. While it shows a sure flaw in the system, it doesn’t change the reality of the situation. Embiid won’t get snubbed entirely, but he might find himself frustrated once again when the results are revealed this year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.