How reigning MVP Joel Embiid managed to make another leap

After finishing second in theNBA's Most-Valuable-Player voting in back-to-back years, JoelEmbiid finally earned his MVP award last season.

Embiid had one of the bestscoring seasons in NBA history, particularly by a big man, as heaveraged the most points by a center since the 1980s. He made asignificant leap forward, which wasn't necessarily expected giventhat he was already one of the most dominant players in theNBA.

Embiid led the Philadelphia76ers to 54 wins and the third seed in the Eastern Conference,averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.0steal and 1.0 three, while shooting 54.8% from the field, 33.0%from three-point range and 85.7% from the free-throwline.

Now, more than a month into the2023-24 NBA season, he is taking the next step in his development:becoming a terrific playmaker.

Embiid’s scoring is obviouslyhis strong suit and what garners the most attention. He has wonback-to-back scoring titles over the last two seasons, and he's onpace for a third this year. However, this season, perhaps the mostimpressive aspect of Embiid's game has been his playmakingabilities.

The big man recorded his firsttriple-double of the season in just three quarters against the LosAngeles Lakers. A 30-point triple-double is impressive in itself,but accomplishing this feat in three quarters is justridiculous. Embiid iscurrently averaging a whopping 6.6 assists to go along with his33.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Prior to this year, hehad never averaged more than 4.2 assists per game.

While there has been a lot oftalk about how James Harden's departure has impacted Tyrese Maxey,it has also done wonders for Embiid’s playmaking ability. BothEmbiid and Maxey are currently top-13 in the NBA in assists pergame, and both are averaging more assists than Harden. Embiid isonce again leading the league in scoring (32.0), while Maxey isaveraging the 12th-most points per game in the NBA (27.0). This duohas just clicked this season, complementing each other perfectlywhile creating for themselves and others.

Even during Harden's stint inPhiladelphia, Embiid would regularly record six or more assists andflex his playmaking abilities whenever Harden was out of thelineup. While many believed that these performances were justflukes, he’s proved himself once more this season.

Embiid's dominant all-aroundoffensive game paired with his elite defense could make him afavorite for the MVP award once again. Embiid currently has the third-best MVP odds(+750) behind Nikola Jokic (+150) and Luka Doncic(+500).

The biggest knock on Embiid washis playmaking; now, he’s got that in his bag too.