Joel Embiid, winner of a made-up award

It's not about taking home a piece of metal sponsored by a company. Being able to hold the distinction of best player in the world over the competition's heads is what it is about. They care about the distinction that comes with winning something. They care about the title. This move by the Philadelphia City Council is cringeworthy.

Do you have to kick him while he is down? The man has lost in the Eastern Conference semis four times in the last five years. He put his team on his back and carried them to a first-round victory over the Raptors and then put up a decent fight in the second round against the top seed Miami Heat. James Harden was supposed to be the perfect teammate for Embiid, but he didn't live up to expectations. As has been the case throughout his career, Embiid had to give everything he had on the court and still come up short, as was the case with the award for Most Valuable Player.

It wouldn't help Embiid to feel better. It would be patronizing to give the team a trophy that said "Hey, you were close" or "You are the league champion in our hearts!" They got a reminder of the fact that they came up short, and a participation trophy, because they didn't win.

That is exactly what the new distinction of Most Valuable Philadelphian is.