76ers' Joel Embiid Says He Deserved to Make 2020 All-NBA Team over Rudy Gobert

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is using last season's All-NBA snub as motivation for the 2020-21 season.

Speaking to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan, Embiid was particularly upset that Rudy Gobert was named to the All-NBA team ahead of him:

"I agree that Anthony Davis had a better season than me. [Nikola] Jokic? That's debatable. But Rudy Gobert? No offense, but he [averaged] 15 [points] and 13 [rebounds] and I had my 23 and 12, and that's kind of a big difference. I think my numbers were better. But people didn't want to vote for me because our team didn't do well.

"That's OK, because I will use it to motivate me so there is no chance that anyone can make that mistake again."

Gobert was named to the All-NBA third team for the second straight season in 2019-20. He's also one of the most valuable defensive players in the league with two Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2017-18 and 2018-19, and a third-place finish in 2019-20.

Embiid made the All-NBA second team in each of the two previous years prior to the 2019-20 season. He was also named to the All-Defensive second team in 2017-18 and 2018-19 but missed out on both honors last year.

Even though Embiid cited his offensive stats last season, there's an argument that Gobert's impact on the defensive end is greater than what the Sixers center provides to make him the third-best center in the league behind Davis and Jokic.

Another potential factor in the voting could have been playing time. Gobert played in 18 more games (62 to 44) and averaged more than four minutes more per game (34.6 to 30.2) than Embiid last season in the games that were considered for awards purposes.

Regardless of why Embiid missed out on the All-NBA team, him finding extra motivation for this season is only good news for the Sixers. This is a crucial season for the franchise with Doc Rivers taking over as head coach and Daryl Morey running basketball operations.

Embiid and Ben Simmons are the two guys the 76ers have built their roster around. Barring any potential blockbuster trades, their ability to play together will determine the organization's ceiling.