Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid wins first NBA MVP award

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By Webdesk


Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets finished second and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third.

Joel Embiid, champion of the center of the Philadelphia 76ers and league scorer, has earned his first National Basketball Association (NBA) MVP trophy, surpassing 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 semifinals against Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.

Jokic finished second and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first place votes. Jokic received 15 votes for first place and Antetokounmpo received 12.

“It was a long time coming,” Embiid said Tuesday. “A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. I’m not just talking about basketball. I’m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took to be here.”

The 76ers watched TV in Boston and burst into applause, shouting “MVP!” MVP! When the seven foot (2.12 meter) Embiid buried his head in his hands as he sat in a chair. He was in tears as teammates James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey harassed him to celebrate.

Embiid then promised “I’ll be back” for the playoff series against the Celtics.

But as for Game 2 on Wednesday night?

“We’ll see,” Embiid said.

Embiid is determined to win the Most Valuable Player (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 tallied 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, 29, is the second player from Africa to win the prestigious award, alongside Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94).

Embiid is the first 76er to win League MVP since Allen Iverson in 2001. Julius Erving in 1981, Moses Malone in 1983, and Wilt Chamberlain in 1966–68 are other 76ers to win NBA MVP awards.

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.

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 Jokic each of the past two seasons.

Jayson Tatum of the Celtics amassed 89 fourth-place votes and one third-place finisher to finish fourth with 280 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder (46 points) rounded out the top five after a career year.

For the first time in his two-decade career, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers did not receive a single vote for MVP.



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