NBA MVP: 76ers’ Joel Embiid wins league’s top individual honor

Philadelphia76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned hisfirst NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner NikolaJokic of the Denver Nuggets.

The29-year-old from Yaoundé, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win hissecond straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied acareer high with 4.2 assists per game. Embiid played in 66 games,the second-highest total of his career, but again has been hit withinjuries in the playoffs. Embiid has beensidelinedwith a sprained rightknee that cost him one game of theplayoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the EasternConference semifinals againstBoston,which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.

Jokicfinished runner-up and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Buckswas third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.

“It’s been along time coming,” Embiid said. “A lot of hard work. I’ve beenthrough a lot. I’m not just talking about basketball. I’m talkingabout my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and whatit took for me to be here.”

The76ers watched on TV inBoston and erupted in applause and started chanting “MVP! MVP!” as the big man buried his head in his hands as he sat in a chair.Embiid was in tears as teammates James Harden, Tobias Harris andTyrese Maxey mobbed him in celebration.

Embiid thenvowed “I’ll be back” for the playoff series against theCeltics.

But as forGame 2 on Wednesday night?

“We shallsee,” Embiid said.

Embiid hasbeen determined to win -- and campaigned for -- the MVP trophy foryears. The third overall pick of the 2014 draft, Embiid missed hisfirst two full seasons with injuries before settling in as one ofthe top big men of his generation. He was at his best this seasonwhen he totaled three 50-point games, including a career-high 59against Utah in November. He had 13 total 40-point games.

When Embiidtotaled 52 points and 13 rebounds in a win against the Celtics inApril, coach Doc Rivers boldly declared, “The MVP race isover.”

Embiidcertainly didn’t argue that night with his coach or Sixersteammates who stumped on his behalf.

“They’reprobably right,” Embiid said. “But we have bigger goals inmind.”

Embiid is thefirst 76er to win league MVP since Allen Iverson in 2001. JuliusErving in 1981, Moses Malone in 1983 and Wilt Chamberlain from1966-1968 are other 76ers to win NBA MVP awards.

Embiid’sinjury could be the deciding factor in the 76ers’ chase for the NBAchampionship. The Sixers are trying to win their first NBA titlesince 1983 and advance past the second round for the first timesince 2001 — which was the last time a Sixer won the MVP award.

Allen Iversonwas named league MVP in 2001. Other 76ers to capture the league’stop individual award: Julius Erving, 1981; Moses Malone, 1983; andWilt Chamberlain, 1966-1968.

Embiid, whograduated from a Florida high school and played a season in collegeat Kansas, has been every bit the dominant force in the NBA overthe past seven seasons. Once the poster child for load management,Embiid has played 134 regular-season games the last two seasons andhis 30.6 points last season made him the first international playerever to win an NBA scoring title. He’s a six-time All-Star and wasrunner-up each of the last two seasons to Jokic.

Antetokounmpowon in 2019 and 2020. Jokic in 2021 and 2022.

Now, theaward belongs to Embiid, who didn’t pick up a basketball until hewas a teenager in Africa, when a friend informed him that very few7-footers succeed in soccer.

A few monthslater, Embiid was lured to a basketball camp in the capital ofYaounde run by NBA veteran Luc Mbah a Moute, one of just twoplayers from Cameroon to have played in the NBA. Mbah a Moutepersuaded Embiid’s parents to let him move 6,000 miles to Florida,and helped enroll him at Montverde Academy, one of the best highschool programs in the country. He played just 28 games in his loneseason at Kansas before leaving for the NBA.

“I amabsolutely thrilled for Joel on winning the MVP award. He is thereal deal and deserves every bit of recognition that comes hisway,” Rivers said. “He embodies everything that the honor standsfor. His drive to improve is unmatched, and like the saying ‘adream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes hard work’,he’s put in the work.”

Embiid, whobecame an American citizen last year, was known early in his careerfor sucking down Shirley Temples but has worked with sportsdietitians to develop healthier eating habits and streamlined hisworkouts.

Sixers fanscan enjoy him for years. Embiid’s four-year, $196 million contractextension doesn’t kick in until next season and takes him through2026-27.

The affablecenter became the face of the 76ers’ rebuilding effort morecommonly known as The Process. He embraced the nickname and isintroduced before every home game as Joel “The Process” Embiid.

He can nowadd MVP.

Billboardswent up around Philadelphia of Embiid with the slogan “MVPIID” andSixers fans serenaded him with “MVP!” chants from pregameintroductions all the way to his final free throw attempts.

Embiid, whoshares with his long-time girlfriend a son named in the honor ofhis late brother, holds career averages of 27.2 points and 11.2rebounds in 394 career starts. He’s a four-time All-NBA selectionand three-time All-Defensive Team selection.

This is thefifth consecutive year an international player has been MVP,extending the longest streak in NBA history. It’s also the secondtime that international players finished 1-2-3 in MVP voting; thefirst time was last season.

Embiidbecomes the second winner from Africa, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, theNigerian who won for Houston in 1994.