Sixers’ Joel Embiid named 2022-23 NBA MVP following incredible journey
BOSTON Suffice it to say that Joel Embiid has had a journey.
Born in Yaound, Cameroon, Embiid first picked up basketball when he was a very tall teenage volleyball player. He got invited to Luc Mbah a Moutes camp, flashed potential, moved to Florida for high school hoops, soon found himself picked third in the NBA draft, and sat on the sidelines for two full seasons because of injury before debuting for the Sixers.
Embiid is now the leagues MVP.
The NBA announced Tuesday night that Embiid expectedly came first in this years voting after consecutive runner-up finishes to Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. Joel Embiid is the first player to win the Kia NBA MVP Award with the 76ers since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.
Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kko3o8tmxi
While the MVP race tends to inspire intense debate, Embiid amassed formidable credentials to become the Sixers first MVP since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.
Embiid won his second straight scoring title, averaging 33.1 points on a tremendous, career-best 65.5 true shooting percentage. He only scored under 30 points in 10 of his 66 regular-season appearances and posted over 50 on three occasions.
On both sides of the ball, Embiid was excellent late in close games. He was fearsome to defend from the nail and elbow, showing off wing-like agility, smooth mid-range scoring skills, and faith in his teammates to convert the many open jumpers he could create.
I think Im unguardable, Embiid said in March. Its all about using that and trying to make my teammates better. With that comes a lot of double teams and triple teams every single game, so its about, how do I make my teammates better every day?
The Sixers led the NBA with a 38.7 three-point percentage. Thanks in large part to Embiid, they also had the leagues best clutch defensive rating.
Embiid has called himself a student of the game. Hes copied point guards open-floor ball handling tricks, meticulously studied Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki, and added useful tools every offseason through his work with trainer Drew Hanlen.
After Doc Rivers detailed on Tuesday the many ways Embiid has improved on the floor over the past three seasons dedication to his conditioning, dominant fourth-quarter defense, better passing, etc. the Sixers head coach added, Hes done all that, and hes kind of given himself to the team. Hes a loner. He really is. Its unnatural for him, and hes doing it.
Georges Niang described Embiid as the Sixers heartbeat and had a humorous description of the 29-year-olds relatively reserved leadership style.
Theres different ways of leading, the gregarious Niang said. You can be a loner. If you look at every single superstar thats ever played or Hall of Famer, or MVP not all of them were as charismatic and outgoing as me.
He leads in his specific way, and hes Joel. I think his success speaks for itself.
Ironically, the Sixers had their best record during Embiids career this season in the games he missed. They went 11-5 in the regular season without him and sit 2-0 in the playoffs ahead of a Round 2, Game 2 matchup Wednesday night against the Celtics.
The Sixers listed Embiid as doubtful for that contest because of his right knee sprain. After Game 2, theyll head back to Philadelphia and host the Celtics on Friday night.
Whatever transpires with Embiids injury, the MVP will be home.
