George Karl criticizes Joel Embiid, calls Nikola Jokic the MVP: "Lazy body language ... gets angry at things"

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers are set to battle for the MVP again. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is also up there, but it seems like the MVP voting could come down to Jokic and Embiid.

In an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Hall of Fame coach George Karl was asked who he would choose as his MVP. Karl criticized Embiid for his "lazy body language" and for getting angry at things. The legendary coach's MVP for the season is Jokic.

"I don't want to bad mouth Embiid because I think he's really, really good," Karl said. "A lot of my assistant coaches were in Philadelphia when he was a young player, and they kept telling me he's going to be the best guy to ever play the game. I see him moving in that direction.

"But he takes too many possessions off. He has lazy body language. He gets angry at things that we don't understand why. I just don't know if he's that NBA pro that we all love because he's a competitive SOB, and he's tough. ... But I can only like one big guy, and I'm going to take Jokic over Embiid."

Joel Embiid is making a late push for MVP, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to an 8-2 record in their last 10 games. Embiid is leading the league in scoring, averaging 33.6 points per game. He's also averaging 10.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks.

The Sixers are third in the Eastern Conference with a 48-23 record. NBA.com's Kia MVP Ladder has Embiid overtaking Nikola Jokic in the rankings this week. One reason for Jokic's drop in the rankings is the Denver Nuggets' current struggles.

They're still atop the Western Conference but have lost five of their last ten games. Jokic is averaging almost a triple-double of 24.7 ppg, 11.9 rbp, 9.9 apg and 1.2 spg.

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Current NBA head coach calls Joel Embiid the MVP

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers

Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle had nothing but praise for Joel Embiid after the Philadelphia 76ers blew them out 141-121 on Saturday (March 18).

Carlisle called Embiid the probable MVP while also giving Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic their flowers.

"Right now, he's probably the MVP," Carlisle said. "With what their team is doing and how he's just elevated his game, he's as difficult a guy to gameplan for as there is in the game. Giannis is crazy ridiculous. Jokic is same. This guy … maybe even more difficult, if that's possible."

Embiid has now scored 30 points or more on 50% shooting for ten straight games. It's the second-longest streak in NBA history, per CBS Sports. Embiid has the chance to tie Shaquille O'Neal's record of 11 consecutive games on Wednesday (March 22) against the Chicago Bulls.

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