It's official. Jokic, Embiid and Giannis are the three finalists for the award:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33758045/nikola-jokic-joel-embiid-giannis-antetokounmpo-finalists-nba-mvp-honorsThe article says that the award winners (of all the categories) will be announced during the postseason. I read somewhere else that MVP will be announced at an awards dinner after the Finals. Either way, we'll officially get the word by the end of June.
There's not a lot of suspension left right now IMO. Of 54 reported votes on the spreadsheet, Embiid has fared best among two groups: ESPN personalities and black journalists/personalities. Here's how that looks.
ESPN ------------------------------------------------------------> 5 firsts for Jokic so far, 5 for Embiid, 1 for Giannis..........5/5/1
Black journalists (unofficial; think this correct) ---------> 7 firsts for Jokic, 5 for Embiid, 1 for Giannis.................7/5/1
List of black journalists/personalities I'm including here (see spreadsheet; please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here with additions/subtractions):
Chris Herring (Jokic); Jalen Rose (Jokic); Chris Broussard (Giannis); Greg Anthony (Embiid); James Edwards (Jokic);
Stephen A Smith (Embiid); Mike Wilbon (Embiid); David Aldridge (Jokic); Gary Washburn (Embiid);
Michael Wright (Jokic); Taylor Rooks (Jokic); Kendrick Perkins (Embiid); Chris Kirschner (Jokic)
Every other sub-group of voters (for example, foreign journalists) has leaned heavily towards Jokic.
If Embiid is, at best, about tied with Jokic in his (Embiid's) best voting blocks, then Embiid doesn't have a real statistical shot at the award based on trends.
Things could change, but the award seems pretty much settled given the 54 votes we know and given the results of the last straw poll.