Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been terrific all season, leading the NBA with 33.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds. He was rewarded accordingly with the highest honor the league offers.
Embiid has been the runner-up to Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic for the regular season MVP each of the last two seasons. He finally broke through as the winner of the award this season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that Embiid was officially voted the 2022-23 regular season MVP.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been voted the 2022-2023 NBA Most Valuable Player. Embiid breaks through as the winner after consecutive years as runner-up.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 2, 2023
Embiid took home the trophy with 915 total points and 73 first-place votes. The only players to get first-place votes were Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Joel Embiid is the first player to win the Kia NBA MVP Award with the 76ers since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.
Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kko3o8tmxi
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 2, 2023
With this award, Embiid becomes the first 76ers player since Allen Iverson to receive the award since the 2000-2001 season.
The star center was paying attention to the news, watching with his teammates, who gave him a big applause once his name was announced. The honor meant a lot to him as he got highly emotional once the moment set in.
your 2022-23 @Kia NBA MVP: @JoelEmbiid 🏆#KiaMVP pic.twitter.com/DNqnd5g9EY
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 2, 2023
Many around the NBA world took to social media to offer their opinion on this massive news.
JOEL EMBIID HAS FINALLY WON THE MVP
LETS GO EMVPIID!
WELL DESERVED!
NOW ALL THAT IS LEFT IS THE RING 💍 pic.twitter.com/X0g35OXm7n
— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) May 2, 2023
Joel Embiid is the 2022-2023 MVP. The first Michael Jordan Trophy winner
No one deserves it more. All Joel Embiid has been through. It’s an incredible story and it’s only just beginning. I knew he was something special after his first game pic.twitter.com/Eh9h6OaxNx
— Aidan Doc🧸 (@AidanDoc_) May 2, 2023
Joel Embiid voted MVP
First Sixer since Allen Iverson 22 years ago pic.twitter.com/Hr0LVj8AF5
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) May 2, 2023
PROCESS TRUSTED 🏆
Joel Embiid is the 2022-23 #KiaMVP! pic.twitter.com/1Y9H4oK6NN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 2, 2023
Joel Embiid MVP season stats
– 33.1 PPG
– 10.2 RPG
– 4.2 APG
– 1.7 BPG
– 55/33/86 splits (65.5% TS)Most dominant player in the NBA #EMVPIID #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/5Eo6cvkCi9
— Prez💊 (@PresidentEmbiid) May 2, 2023
Joel Embiid
– 1x MVP
– 3x MVP finalist
– 6x All-Star
– 2x scoring champ
– 4x All-NBA
– 3x All-Defense
– 1x All-RookieHall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/n90q0C8WQz
— Jake Rabadi (@JakeRabadiNFL) May 2, 2023
While this award means a ton to Joel Embiid, a potential NBA title means more to him. The 76ers are still in contention for that, but they will need Embiid to return to the court to be genuine contenders to win it all.
Embiid missed Game 1 in their second-round series against the Boston Celtics. Luckily for the 76ers, they were miraculously able to come away with a win in the first game without him.
He is listed as questionable for Game 2, but maybe this MVP announcement gives him more of an urge to return to the court as soon as possible.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.