Joel Embiid has capped off his remarkable rise and journey from basketball rookie in Cameroon to the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
On Tuesday, Embiid - who finished second in the award behind Nikola Jokic the past two seasons - was named MVP for the 2022/23 season. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar saw off Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver Nuggets star Jokic to claim the game’s top individual accolade.
Billed as a tight race throughout the season, Embiid secured the award with 73 of the 100 available first-place votes. Jokic had 15 while Antetokounmpo rounded out the top three with 12 votes, ahead of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Embiid led the NBA in scoring for a second successive season while improving his efficiency to finish with career-highs in scoring with 33.1 points per game on 54.1 per cent shooting. He also tallied 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game across the 2022/23 season.
The 29-year-old has publicly campaigned and declared his intention to win the MVP for years - but he was lost for words after he clinched his maiden award. Speaking on ‘Inside the NBA’, Embiid said: “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 MVP award highlights a remarkable moment for Embiid, who didn’t pick up a basketball until the age of 15 after playing volleyball and soccer back in Cameroon. He discovered basketball by watching videos on YouTube and whole-heartedly dedicated himself to his craft, arriving in the United States at 16 years of age after he was spotted in a basketball camp.
Embiid’s skillset improved as he attended the University of Kansas in 2013 - but he opted out of the three additional years he was eligible for as a college star to enter the 2014 NBA Draft. The six-time All-Star was selected third overall by the 76ers just four years after moving to the US, and he has become one of the most dominant big men in the NBA after missing his first two full seasons with injury issues.
His MVP win marks the third straight season a center has claimed the award after Jokic secured back-to-back MVPs, while it is the fifth successive year the award has gone to an international player as Antetokounmpo preceded the Serb with two wins himself. Before the Greek star won in 2019, the only international players to win MVP were Hakeem Olajuwon (1994), Steve Nash (2005, 2006), and Dirk Nowitzki (2007).
While his 76ers teammates chanted ‘MVP’ and showered him with messages of encouragement after winning the award, Embiid is currently struggling with a sprained lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his right knee which saw him miss Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets and the epic Game 1 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. James Harden scored 45 points to lead the 76ers to a dramatic road win on Monday night.
Embiid arguably secured the MVP award with a dominant 52-point, 13-rebound performance to overcome the Celtics in the final week of the regular season. He will hope to do the same to send Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference Finals, and when asked if he will be ready to play in Game 2 on Wednesday, Embiid said: “We shall see.”
The Cameroonian winning the MVP is a fine moment, but his story could yet culminate in a championship. While Philadelphia haven’t won an NBA title since 1983, Harden and Embiid are a dynamite duo set to spearhead a charge to the Finals.
