Joel Embiid is named 2022-23 NBA MVP, becoming the first 76er to win the title since Allen Iverson in 2001, defeating Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Embiid averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 points and 4.2 assists over 66 games
- He is expected to be listed as questionable again for Game 2 of the series against Bos
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Philadelphia 76ers center and league champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, beating two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The 29-year-old from Yaoundé, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second consecutive scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and set an all-time high with 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career, but was again hit with playoff injuries.
He is sidelined with a sprained right knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal against Boston, which Philadelphia won Monday night.
Jokic finished second and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third.
Joel Embiid has been officially named NBA MVP for the 2022-2023 regular season
Embiid averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 points and 4.2 assists over 66 games this season
Embiid defeated former MVP winners Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the award
Embiid is determined to win the MVP trophy and has been campaigning for it for years. The third overall pick of the 2014 draft, Embiid missed his first two full seasons with injuries before establishing himself as one of the best big men of his generation.
He was at his best this season when he scored a total of 50 points in three games, including a career-high 59 against Utah in November. He had a total of 13 40-point games.
When Embiid racked up 52 points and 13 rebounds in a win against the Celtics in April, coach Doc Rivers boldly declared, “The MVP race is over.”
Embiid certainly didn’t argue that night with his coach or Sixers teammates stumping on his behalf.
“They’re probably right,” Embiid said. “But we have bigger goals in mind.”
Embiid’s injury could be the deciding factor in the 76ers’ pursuit of the NBA championship. The Sixers are trying to win their first NBA title since 1983 and get past the second round for the first time since 2001 – which marked the last time a Sixer won the MVP award.
Allen Iverson was named league MVP in 2001. Other 76ers to take the league’s top individual award: Julius Erving, 1981; Moses Malone, 1983; and Wilt Chamberlain, 1966-1968.
Embiid, who graduated from a high school in Florida and played a season in college in Kansas, has been the dominant force in the NBA for the past seven seasons. Once the flagship of load management, Embiid has played 134 regular season games over the past two seasons, and his 30.6 points last season made him the first ever international player to win an NBA scoring title.
He is a six-time All-Star, finishing runner-up to Nikola Jokic in the MVP voting two times each of the last two seasons.
Embiid sat out Game 1 of the series vs Boston due to a sprained LCL in his right knee
Embiid, who became a US citizen last year, was known early in his career for sucking Shirley Temples, but he’s been working with sports dieticians to develop healthier eating habits and streamline his workouts.
Sixers fans can enjoy him for years to come. Embiid’s four-year, $196 million contract extension doesn’t start until next season and lasts through 2026-27.
The affable downtown became the face of the 76ers’ rebuilding, known as The Process.
He embraced the nickname and is introduced as Joel ‘The Process’ Embiid before every home game.
He can now add MVP.
Billboards hung around Philadelphia or Embiid with the slogan “MVPIID,” and Sixers fans serenaded him with “MVP!” chants from pregame introductions to his final free throw attempts.
He has career averages of 27.2 points and 11.2 rebounds in 394 career starts. He is a four-time All-NBA selection and three-time All-Defensive Team selection.