The Philadelphia 76ers (23-13) suffered a 139-132 overtime road loss at the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday to extend their current losing streak to three games.
Sixers center Joel Embiid, the league’s leading scorer and defending MVP, has not played in the last two. Embiid now has missed nine games this season and will not play in Friday's home matchup against the Sacramento Kings (ESPN, 7:30) due to a nagging knee injury.
Wondering when Embiid is available can be stressful to Sixers fans and confounding to folks interested in wagering on the team in Pennsylvania sports betting.
So, PennStakes.com – your source for PA online casinos - used Basketball-Reference.com to see how the time Embiid has missed in the past 4+ seasons compares with the other players with the shortest odds for MVP. The numbers are thru games of Dec. 10.
Games Played Per Season
The stats compare Embiid (+850) with the other four players atop the odds board at FanDuel Pennsylvania. That includes Denver’s Nikola Jokic (+170), Oklahoma City’s Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (+280), Dallas’ Luka Doncic (+420) and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Only SGA Has Missed More Than Embiid
Out of the five players listed, Embiid is high on the list at No. 2, averaging 79.6 games played. Before his 27 games played this season, the past two campaigns he has played in 68 (2021-22) and 66 (2022-23). Last year, he was tied for second (66) on the list with Doncic. This year, he has played the least number of games (27) among the five.
Gilgeous-Alexander topped the list, averaging just 76.7 games played over the last five season. SGA played only 35 games in 2020-21.
In the games he has played, Embiid is making the most of his opportunity. He is averaging 34.6 points (1st), 11.8 rebounds (5th) and six assists (20th) per game.
ESPN BET Friday, Future Odds
The Sixers are a slight 1.5-point and -115 moneyline favorite tonight against the Kings (-105) at ESPN Bet Pennsylvania, with the game’s over/under total at 241.5 points.
Philadelphia is listed as the fifth favorite (+1000) to win the NBA championship and the third favorite (+525) to win the Eastern Conference, behind the Milwaukee Bucks (+215) and the Boston Celtics (+140).
PennStakes.com will be following Embiid and the Sixers all season long, as well as offering the top PA sportsbook promo codes.
