Joel Embiid’s not only the NBA’s best player. The Sixers center is better than last year’s MVP season.

Joel Embiid is dominating the NBA.

After leading the Denver Nuggets to last season’s league title, everyone thought that Nikola Jokić would be this season’s top player. But Embiid is having a better season than his 2022-23 MVP season.

“We are seeing something pretty cool right in front of us, right now,” Sixers first-year coach Nick Nurse said. “I heard him say a week or so ago, or maybe 10 days ago, that his mindset is to go out there and dominate every single night.”

In the process, there has been no one more dominant than Embiid.

The 7-foot-2, 280-pound center is averaging a league-best 35.0 points per game. He’s fifth in rebounding (11.7) and ninth in blocks (2.0). In addition, he’s averaging a career-best 6.0 assists.

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Embiid is on pace to post one of the all-time best individual campaigns if he remains healthy. However, Nurse acknowledged the sprained ankle that Embiid suffered in Friday’s 121-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center is a little concerning.

The six-time All-Star did not practice with teammates Saturday. The Sixers (20-8) will travel to Miami on Sunday for their Christmas Night game against the Heat at the Kaseya Center. Their next practice will be Monday morning’s shootaround.

“There’s some swelling there,” Nurse said. “I think there’s some concern there, but I also think there’s not a ton of concern. You know what I mean? Like you’re always concerned when you see that. It did turn over pretty good.”

The Sixers are 0-3 in games Embiid has missed this season because of rest or an illness. His initial status against Miami (17-12) will be revealed Sunday evening. Forward Nicolas Batum (right hamstring strain) is scheduled to miss his third consecutive game. He’s expected to return Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.

But Embiid’s availability is a hot topic leading into Monday. During his dominant performance on Friday, Embiid grimaced in pain and played with a noticeable limp throughout the rest of the game against the Raptors (11-17).

The Sixers will need him healthy to be competitive during this week’s road trip to Miami, Orlando, Houston(Friday), and Chicago (Saturday).

After not being as nimble on Friday, one could argue this might be a great time to rest Embiid. Let’s face it, the Sixers aren’t going far in the postseason without a healthy Embiid.

When healthy, he’s the most unstoppable player in the league.

He finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds against the Raptors to extend two franchise records. Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 14 consecutive games. He also extended his streak of 30-point, 10-rebound games to 13.

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Embiid leads the NBA in 30-point games (20), 30-point, 10-rebound games (17) and 30-point, 10-rebound and five-assist games (13). Oh, and he’s tied with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the most 50-point games (two).

That’s just for starters.

Averaging 35.0 points in 34.2 minutes, Embiid is on pace to join Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players since the 1954-55 season to finish with more points than minutes played. Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points in 48.5 minutes for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1961-62 season.

If Embiid played the 48.5 minutes that Chamberlain played, he would be averaging 49.9 points.

“I think he’s better than people know,” Marcus Morris Sr. said of Embiid. “Being in the league for a while and seeing it up close now, it’s crazy different than what I ever saw.”

“Like ... dude is like … he’s different,” Morris added while trying to collect his thoughts. “I ain’t even about scoring, man. The [man] plays defense. He helps guys protect the rim. So he’s doing it on both sides of the ball. I don’t know any superstar that’s willing to put their body on the line day in and day out like that, like literally.”

He’s averaging the most blocks since averaging 2.5 during his rookie season. Embiid had a season-high six blocks against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 29. He has seven games with at least four blocks.

But offensively, Embiid is going to the basket more this season, and he slows down on his way there. At times, it’s almost like he’s playing in slow motion. He drives the lane, slows down and sees what the defensive player is giving him, and either scores or gets fouled or both.

But Embiid’s increased aggressiveness going to the rim appears to be a combination of his maturity as a player and the addition of Nurse.

After being hired in July, Nurse talked about finding more ways to utilize Embiid. It looks like he has. And Embiid is a very smart player, so he’s taking advantage of situations. As the saying goes, “Once you see success, then you keep doing it.”

Plus, his improved passing makes it harder for defenses to concentrate solely on him. That creates more scoring opportunities for his teammates.

He’s also benefiting from no longer having Harden dominating the ball.

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The ball moves more, the pace is faster, and defenses can’t get set, unlike like last year when Harden and Embiid settled in the half court.

Bottom line is, Embiid is playing at an elite level.

The 29-year-old is establishing himself as one of the best to ever play this game. It’s still early and health is always a concern, but Embiid is heavily favored to win a second straight MVP title. His two-way dominance is something we haven’t seen in a while.

“He protects the rim,” Morris said. “He’s scoring from all three levels. [Shoot], I don’t remember another player like that at 7-2. Then when he gets down low, he’s on some Shaq [stuff]. You know what I mean?”

Even Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t even do all of the things Embiid is doing.

The 2000 MVP and four-time NBA champion was more dominant near the basket. Embiid, however, has a 15-foot jump shot that’s lethal. He can hit three-pointers, put it on the floor, and drive to the basket or pull up for a midrange jumper. Oh, and hit 89.3% of his free throws. O’Neal couldn’t do any of those things. .

“I keep saying this: I think he’s continuing to get better, right?” Nurse said. “I think he’s just doing enough different things rhythmically to keep those guys guessing. … Listen, my favorite stuff is every now and then, he shoots it. He makes it, he makes it, and all of a sudden, he goes down the lane and dunks it on about three people.”

Pure dominance.