76ers' Joel Embiid: Being Runner-Up to Nikola Jokic for NBA MVP Is 'Disappointing'

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was unsurprisingly discouraged to fall short in the NBA MVP voting.

Embiid was second on the ballot behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who collected 91 of the 101 first-place votes.

"It's disappointing, because as a player you work hard for moments like this," the Sixers center told reporters after a 118-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks. "But then again, it's out of my control. There's nothing I can do about it. I just gotta come out every year and just be ready to do my job."

The four-time All-Star appears to have taken his frustrations out on the Hawks, dropping 40 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2.

If Embiid had remained healthy for the bulk of the regular season, then he might have challenged Jokic more. The 7-footer averaged 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. He also shot 51.3 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point range.

Nobody was more important in Philadelphia finishing first in the Eastern Conference than Embiid.

But it was difficult to overlook the fact that he was out for 21 games, which accounted for nearly 30 percent of the regular season. Jokic, on the other hand, was one of 11 players to appear in all 72 contests for his team.

The same thing happened to Embiid in his rookie season. While he clearly outperformed everybody who was eligible for Rookie of the Year, he only made 31 appearances, which dropped him to third in the voting behind Malcolm Brogdon and Dario Saric.

The Sixers will probably continue to manage Embiid's workload a bit for the foreseeable future, and injuries are something that are always out of a player's hands. But that doesn't change the fact that health is a critical part of somebody's candidacy for postseason honors.