Embiid wins 2023 NBA MVP
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award for the first time, the league announced on Tuesday.
Embiid was chosen by voters over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the back to back reigning MVP, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won back-to-back awards in 2019 and 2020.
The Cameroonian big man received 73 first-place votes from a group of 100 voters in the media and continuing a trend with the fifth consecutive win for an international player.
The 29-year-old is only the second African player to become MVP after Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon won it with the Houston Rockets in the 1993-94 season.
The third overall pick in 2014, Embiid led the league in scoring for a second straight year, averaging a career-high 33.1 points per game on 54.8% shooting from the field, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
Unfortunately for Embiid, the center suffered a lateral collateral ligament sprain in his right knee during the third game of the first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets, forcing him to miss the final game of the 76ers’ 4-0 series win and their Monday win in the first game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals victory the Boston Celtics.
The NBA MVP trophy was renamed this season after the legendary Michael Jordan.
