Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid might be sidelined to injury, but the big man has another piece of hardware to add to his collection.
The Association announced its NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday ahead of the Miami Heat and New York Knicks playoff game. In what can’t be considered too much of a surprise, Embiid beat out fellow finalists Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the prestigious award.
The vote wasn’t necessarily too close, either. Embiid received 75 first-place votes compared to 15 for Jokic and 12 for the Greek Freak. We can now put to rest any debate about who was the regular season’s most valuable player.
Jokic was a two-time reigning NBA MVP award winner prior to Tuesday’s announcement dropping. Giannis has also won two MVP awards throughout his stellar career in Milwaukee.
For Embiid, this is all about “The Process” coming to a culmination after he was selected No. 3 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2014. Now 29, Embiid’s career started with the former Kansas star playing just 31 games over the first three seasons of his career. He’s certainly come a long way since.
With that said, the veteran is more focused on bringing a championship to the City of Brotherly.
“I’m just focused on trying to win a championship and whatever happens, happens. If [I] win, great. If I don’t win anything, I don’t care,” Joel Embiid said back in April.
The 76ers have not hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy since all the way back in 1983. Since then, playoff futility has been the name of the game.
Related: Joel Embiid and the top 2023 NBA MVP candidates
Joel Embiid wins the 2022-23 NBA MVP: By the numbers
After leading the Association in scoring last season, Embiid took his statistical game to a completely different level during the 2023-23 regular season. He was a man on a mission:
- Joel Embiid stats (2022-23): 33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 55% shooting
Embiid dropped north of 50 points three times during the regular season. That included a 59-point, 11-rebounds, eight-assist and seven-block outing against the Utah Jazz back in November.
All said, Embiid had north of 40 points in 18% of his regular-season outings. That’s absolutely insane stuff right there.
His 33.1 PPG average is the second-most for an NBA leading scorer since the great Kobe Bryant averaged 35.4 points during the 2005-06 season. In fact, it’s the third-highest total since Michael Jordan back in 1989-90.
Joel Embiid injury and a path forward
Embiid is currently sidelined to a knee injury that cost him Game 1 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It remains to be seen how long the big man is going to be out for. There is hope that he’ll be able to return later in the series.
With Embiid sidelined, Philadelphia was able to pull off a huge road upset over the defending Eastern Conference champions in Game 1 Monday night, thanks in large part to an otherworldly effort from James Harden.
Even then, Philadelphia will need Embiid back in the mix if it is going to hand the Celtics a series loss in the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Embiid is expected to miss Game 2 in Boston Wednesday evening.