Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2022-23 NBA regular season after becoming a player with one of the most dominant years in more than two decades. The power forward earned his first MVP Award after averaging a league-high 33.1 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game and 1.7 blocks per game.
Embiid, who accepted the MVP award while surrounded by his teammates, shared his reaction to receiving the honor with the “Inside the NBA” crew on Tuesday evening (May 2). “I don’t even know where to start. 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 29-year-old center won the award in a landslide victory, after garnering 73 of the 100 first-place votes, besting MVP runner-up Nikola Jovic’s 15 first place votes. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished in third place with 12 first place votes of his own. Embiid also tallied the most overall voting points with 915 total, while Jokic’s 674 points edged out Giannis’ 606 points. Rounding out the Top 5 in MVP voting are Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who finished fourth, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fifth.
Embiid’s win comes after finishing second in MVP voting in the past two seasons behind winner Nikola Jokic and extends the five-year streak of foreign-born NBA players taking home the hardware. The former No. 3 overall pick is the first player from Cameroon to win MVP and the second African to earn the honor, the first being Hakeem Olajuwon during the 1993-1994 NBA season. He is also the first center to win the NBA scoring title since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000 and the first center to average over more than 30 points per game since Moses Malone in 1981-1982.
With the MVP award in his possession, Embiid’s focus is dedicating to bringing an NBA championship to Philadelphia for the first time in four decades. The Sixers—which defeated the Brooklyn Nets in a four-game sweep in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs—currently hold a 1-0 lead in their second round matchup against the Boston Celtics. Embiid, who has been sidelined by a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, is listed as doubtful to appear in Game 2 of the series.