Joel Embiid believes a championship isn't 'all that matters' - "Would you rather be at the bottom?"

Being the face of the Philadelphia 76ers and the main engine of "The Process," Joel Embiid has been in the limelight ever since he entered the NBA as he faces constant pressure to win the championship each season.

For Joel Embiid, it's about appreciating the team's current success and being in playoff contention as opposed to being below in the standings with little to nothing to look forward to in the postseason.

However, Joel Embiid gave an interesting point-of-view on the matter in Keith Pompey's article for "The Philadelphia Inquirer."

“Everybody is always basing everything on winning a championship," Embiid said. "But that’s not all that matters. Obviously, you want to win a championship. But would you rather be in contention every year? Or would you [rather] be at the bottom and fighting to make the playoffs every single year?”

With constant disappointment in not getting past the second-round in the playoffs, the goal this season for Embiid and the 76ers is to finally get over the hump and reach the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals for the first time during "The Process'" era.

This season could prove pivotal in the long-term vision of the franchise moving forward. The team has faced immense pressure to win it all this season along with Joel Embiid having an MVP-level season.

Joel Embiid's MVP season

Joel Embiid, in arguably his best season yet, is averaging 33.0 points on 54.4% shooting, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He is also the frontrunner to win the MVP award with Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum following behind.

Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (51-26) are third in the Eastern Conference standings as they look to make a strong playoff run this year with the goal of winning it all by the end.

"When you got some guys in the league, the eye test tells you that they’re not good defensively, but analytics tell you they’re the best defenders," Embiid said. "That’s when analytics don’t make sense at all. I don’t make the rules, I don’t choose whatever criteria that they use, so it’s really about whatever people’s preferences are.”

When it came to winning the MVP, Embiid gave an interesting point-of-view about it in Shams Charania's article for "The Athletic," similar to what Giannis Antetokounmpo said on the matter. He agreed with Giannis' sentiment about how the criteria for winning the award is constantly changing, along with analytics only making the discussion confusing as it is the opposite of what the eye test shows.