Richard Jefferson slams Embiid as dodging Jokic with ‘Serbian Flu’

The folks over at ESPN may have been the only thing that kept Nikola Jokic from becoming the first player since Larry Bird in the 1980s to win three-straight MVPs, this summer they’ve backtracked quite a bit, and now one commentator has gone 180.

Former Nugget and short-time Jokic teammate Richard Jefferson, who now works at ESPN, has diagnosed Joel Embiid with the “Serbian Flu.” It’s a strain that apparently afflicts Philadelphia big men visiting Denver, causing symptoms such as quacking and fatigue.

What Jefferson is referencing is Embiid’s late-season duck of Denver, which didn’t have any real impact on the MVP race other than a short blimp. The Philly big hasn’t played in Colorado since 2019, a 21-point fourth quarter comeback by the Nuggets that saw Jokic hit a game-winner over Embiid, and the 76er responded by fouling out. It’s one of just two times Embiid, who was drafted in 2014, has played in Denver.

ESPN diagnose Embiid with the "Serbian Flu"#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/gnE1Ae14W7

— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) August 17, 2023

The upcoming Jokic-Embiid bout in Colorado should happen, given both teams are rested going in and out of the Jan. 27 contest.

In 69 regular season games last year Jokic scored 24.5 points, grabbed 11.8 rebounds and threw 9.8 assists per contest while going for an NBA-best 70% true shooting. Jokic led the league in Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares, Box Plus-Minus and Value Over Replacement Player. He did all this en route to his first title, where the Nuggets went 16-4 in knocking off the Wolves, Suns, Lakers and Heat. Jokic scored 30 a game, grabbed 13.5 rebounds and dished 9.5 helpers while shooting 55% from the field in the postseason.

Yet Jokic lost out on a third MVP to Joel Embiid by a wide margarin despite leading the race for much of the season. Embiid led the league in scoring at 33 points a game over 66 games, adding 10 rebounds, four helpers, two blocks and one steal per game. For Jokic’s money, he didn’t really care about the award but seemingly ESPN’s hype factory didn’t care about the Joker. The Disney-owned network aired embarrassing aired race-baiting commentary from a personality that was on the show clipped above which Nuggets coach Michael Malone said shifted Denver’s care in the MVP race.

“I think the negativity around the MVP race got to Jokic. I don’t know that it did, and I haven’t talked to him about it. But he got attacked every night,” Malone said after the Western Conference Finals. “Champion your horse but the knocking this year, it pissed me off and I wouldn’t be surprised if it got to him too.”

The narrative that ESPN pushed impacted not just Jokic’s chances at an MVP and furthering his legacy but it actually impacted the way the Nuggets played out the season’s final days.

Maybe it’s just winning a ring that gets everyone to hush up, but the commentary seems to now be complimentary of Jokic and critical of Embiid, all the while the 76ers run off yet another co-star to Embiid.

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