NBA: Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid wins first MVP
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2022-23 season, the league announced Tuesday, finally claiming the prestigious trophy after finishing second the past two seasons.
Embiid flipped the script with a dominant season as he finished ahead of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the league’s top individual honor.
What seemed like a tight race throughout much of the season ended as a blowout, with Embiid garnering 73 of the 100 available first-place votes (915 total). Jokic had 15 first-place votes (674 total), while Antetokounmpo captured 12 (606). Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum finished fourth, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fifth.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Embiid said during an interview on “Inside the NBA” after winning the award. “It’s been a long time coming, a lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot, and I’m not just talking about basketball … it feels good. I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”
The win for Embiid marks the third straight season a center has claimed the award, with Jokic winning the past two seasons. It is the fifth consecutive year for an international player dating back to Antetokounmpo’s victories in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Before the past five years, the only international players to win the MVP were Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94, Steve Nash (2005-06) and Dirk Nowitzki in (2006-07).
The MVP award was renamed after Michael Jordan this season as part of an overhaul of the league’s awards. The Sixers have been without their MVP for the past two weeks as Embiid is sidelined by a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee that he suffered in Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.
When asked if he would be ready to play by Game 2 on Wednesday, Embiid demurred, saying, “We shall see.”
