Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on Tuesday was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In one of the closest contests in recent history, Embiid got the better of Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks to win the Michael Jordan Trophy.
Embiid became the fifth athlete in franchise history to win the MVP. The others were Wilt Chamberlain (1966-68), Julius Erving (1981), Moses Malone (1983) and Allen Iverson (2001).
In an election made up of 100 journalists and media professionals from the US and Canada, Embiid had 73 first place votes and scored 915 points. The second most voted was Jokic with 674 points. Finally, Antetokounmpo finished third with 606 points.
Ten points were awarded to first place votes, seven points to second, five to third, three to fourth and one to fifth place.
Furthermore, the league’s Most Valuable Player is an alien for the fifth consecutive season. In 2019 and 2020, the winner was Antetokounmpo. In the last two seasons, the award has gone to Jokic.
But, Embiid ran an NBA MVP-caliber campaign. He did, after all, finish the regular season with the league’s best points average for the second consecutive year. In the 66 games played, there were 33.1. He also had 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 10.2 rebounds.
Moreover, he was fundamental – on both sides of the court – for the 76ers’ great campaign (54-28), the third best in the regular season. The Cameroonian had an epic 52-point performance against the Boston Celtics a month ago.
In the opinion of his coach, Doc Rivers, the star’s memorable match served to enshrine who is the 2022/23 MVP.
“The MVP race is over. Joel scored half of our points in an NBA game. I’m suspicious to say, but the fact is that there is no more debate about the award,” Rivers said.
Third pick in the 2014 Draft, Embiid has a contract with the 76ers until 2027. However, in the next four seasons, he will have US$ 210 million in wages.
